2005 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Schlossberg Riesling Auslese Schmitt

2005 Zeltinger Schlossberg Riesling Auslese “Schmitt” represents the third year that a block picking from one parcel in the Schlossberg has been memorably captured and so-designated. A smokiness and pungency of crushed stone, botrytis spice, and citrus zest practically overwhelms the nose. At first sip, this evolves into a vanilla, nut, and dried fruit cake, with pineapple, apple, and white raisin dusted with baking spices and dripping with fresh citrus and honey. In the finish, this wine returns us to the elegance and lift that characterize so many of the best 2005s, morphing into a fruit-studded Riesling-and-vanilla cream, but never losing its juicy citricity or its moorings in slate. The longer one savors it, the more remarkable this becomes for its complex abundance, for offering a mysterious sense of mineral-fruit interaction even at the upper reaches of ripeness, and for combining honeyed, creamy richness with juicy freshness. Capturing the many stages of evolution in the Riesling bunches of one parcel in a single day's harvest has proven the key to riveting complexity and a vivid picture of the Schmitt parcel at one moment in time. My suspicion is that this magnificent wine will age in the same way that Johannes Selbach describes its manner of harvest and resultant style: “like the old ones,” and that could well mean 40 years would not see it brought low. “For me, 2005 is a singular vintage in my career,” says Johannes Selbach, “in that it is ripe, multi-faceted, and has excellent acidity. You can pick any of the other recent classics – 1975, 1990 ... . Each of the benchmark years is great in its way, however here you have a combination that is fun to drink now, ten years from now, and in thirty years as well. It remains to be seen, but I think 2005 is in another league.” Readers will indeed be hard pressed this year to find another address with this many consistently outstanding wines, and when has there ever been a more diverse and at the same time magnificent array of Auslesen? In their upper reaches, the Selbach 2005s seem – like Zilliken's, but in their own unique way – to chart a trajectory beyond the normal course for their vintage. The harvest here extended from mid-October to mid-November. Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300