2018 Riesling Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese

So much dried-peach and apricot character here, but then a wealth of florals, such as dried orchid and jasmine. Hints of peppermint tea, croissant and orange spread. The sweetness is powerful and long-lasting, but the acidity is equally, if not more profound and engulfing. So much tension and minerality here, despite the ripeness. The finish goes on and on. Drink now or hold.(12/2019)

From ungrafted, 130-year-old vines, the 2018 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Vieilles Vignes Riesling Auslese was made from very ripe clusters that were about 50% affected by botrytis. Picked along with the dry grand cru (GG) and about two weeks later than the Kabinett, the 2018 Auslese is rich yet also fine and multi-layered on the elegant, delicately slatey nose. Dense and rich on the palate and definitely sweet yet also spicy, with delicate acidity and a savory slate note, this is a tasty and generous but still not a little playful Sonnenuhr that will gain finesse and complexity over many years. It should be given this time, i.e., about a decade. There are notes of black tea in relation to the delicate tannins as well as the bergamot aromas. In the long term, this might be a fabulous interpretation and the finest of the 2018s that will all be released in November this year. It was bottled with 10% stated alcohol plus a moderate 39.8 grams per liter of residual sugar. I doubt whether she really “drinks like water” in 10 or 15 years' time, as Ernst Loosen cheerfully remarked; but if the master means the speed with which his old-fashioned Auslese is drunk, he is likely to be proved right. Natural cork. Tasted in October 2024. - Stephan Reinhardt (10/2024)