2018 Müller-Catoir Haardter Herzog Rieslaner Auslese
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Tasting notes
Glazed pineapple is coated with caramel and brown sugar and joined by candied mirabelle laced with chili pepper in an impressively aggressive aromatic tour de force for this grape variety. The flavors are as anticipated from the nose, backed by high glycerol and prominent sweetness. The finish leaves an impression of butterscotch, with a slight tang of pineapple striving to push back against sheer sweetness and a bit of stickiness. While acidity is high here by this collection’s standards – on the order of eight grams per liter—there isn’t the cleansing, animating or refreshing finishing impression that a Müller-Catoir Rieslaner Auslese more frequently delivers. (DS)
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2018 Rieslaner Herzog Auslese "VDP. Erste Lage" offers an intense, clear, ripe and concentrated bouquet. Sweet and lush but also piquant on the palate, this is a well-structured, lush and juicy wine with pineapple aromas and stimulating vitality. The wine has grip and tension that counterbalances the enormous sweetness from the 150 grams of residual sugar. Tasted in Haardt, December 2019.
Weighted branches of tropical-fruit trees have been generous here, offering ripe mangoes, apricots, jack fruit, lychees, papaya and baked bananas. Sweet and very bold with a huge amount of depth and viscosity. The tropical fruit turns to caramel and sticky toffee pudding on the finish. Drink now or hold.