2016 Markus Molitor Auslese*** Sonnenuhr WK

The 2016 Riesling Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Auslese *** (White Capsule) is terribly deep, complex and smoky on the nose, offering perfectly ripe but precise fruit aromas that are intermixed with crushed stones and bones as well as wet slate plates. Gosh, this is spectacular! Pure and silky on the palate, with generous and concentrated fruit and a juicy texture with firm tannins from the oak, this is a very rich and powerful but elegant and promising Riesling that is far too rich to enjoy its talents today. Keep it for at least 10 years. The grapes are sourced from a 1-hectare plot with over 100-year-old vines in the Schiesswingert where the grapes are as big as peas. The blue Devonian slate soil is very fine (weathered) and gives some of the finest Mosel Rieslings. The 2016 was fermented in a 1,150-liter oak vat as well as several grand cru barriques from Mercurey that were aged three years instead of only two and only slightly toasted. This is spectacular—but be patient! The wine is rich and structured not just by mineral complexity but also fine tannins. It`s richer and sweeter than the Himmelreich yet not as pure as the Doctor. I am curious to taste it again in ten years, and be sure, I will! 98+ points

Like a creamy amalgam of nougat, glazed pineapple and apple jelly suffused with crushed stone, this positively plush Auslese offers a remarkable combination of richness and slate underpinnings, finishing with prodigious length and nary a hint of outright sweetness. That said, it sacrifices some of the animation, infectious juiciness and clarity possessed by this year’s two-star white capsule Auslesen from the Wehlener and Zeltinger Sonnenuhr sites. 92 points