2014 Müller-Catoir Haardter Burgergarten Riesling Spätlese Im Breumel
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Now that this site has been officially recognized as a Müller-Catoir “grand cru,” it’s good to see it being made the subject not just of a Grosses Gewächs but also of a sweet Spätlese. (That was done also in 2001, when the site name only legally belonged on a “back label,” but not in the interim.) “Botrytis had begun appearing,” explained Franzen, “but it never dried out properly, so this wine was selected at 105 Oechsle from bunches with barely puckered or very lightly bronzed and botrytis-tinged berries.” An intense nose mingles sage and spruce resin, vanilla and cinnamon with intimations of pink grapefruit, blood orange and muskmelon that then inform a dynamically interactive, luscious, glossy palate. Pungent and zesty elements along with mouthwatering salinity and crystalline mineral impingements are perfect foils for this nectar-like Riesling’s luxuriant fruitiness in a seductively sustained finish of unabashed sweetness yet refreshing juiciness and crystalline clarity.
Critic scores
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Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate
David Schildknecht, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Picked the day before the Grosses Gewächs and made from fully ripe and overripe grapes, the 2014 Breumel in den Mauern Riesling Spätlese opens with a very intense, dense and aromatic bouquet. Medium-bodied, highly elegant and piquant on the palate, this is an intense, velvety textured, lush and piquant Riesling with a beautifully salty, mouthwatering finish. An invigorating Riesling with terroir character, this wine is full of tension and expression. Grand Cru as a Spätlese – very rare in Germany beyond the Mosel and therefore highly recommended. "A puristic vintage that needs its time but will be terrific in ten years," says Franzen, who compares the structure of the 2014s with those from the 1990s.