2003 Wolfer Goldgrube Trockenbeerenauslese

I had the great and fascinating pleasure to taste Vollenweider’s 300 half-bottles’ worth of 2003 Wolfer Goldgrube Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese in the course of its 15 months of fermentative evolution and now again in bottle. The nose of apple distillate, caramelized apple, honey, black tea, rhubarb preserve, resin, and wood smoke reminds me of a really first class Calvados. Come to think of it, this Riesling also looks rather like aged Calvados! The weighty mouth feel is positively gelatinous, Esszencia-like. Given the optical and textural opacity of this material, the clarity and complexity of its flavors are extraordinary. As a lump of this goes down (I couldn’t possibly spit it) one can practically count the layers of fruit, herb, and spice flavors. The fruits themselves display distilled, caramelized, fresh, dried, and jam aspects. Honey, tea, dried berries, distilled apple, apricot paste, and caramelized peach are just a few of the flavors that well up in the finish. Given this wine’s long evolution and (for the genre) relatively low sulfur, it offers a decidedly oxidative side to its flavors, hence the superficial resemblance to mature Calvados or Tokaji. But in the long scheme of things ? well in the long run, I fear, most of those who read this will have sloughed off these mortal shackles whilst Vollenweider’s 2003 T.B.A. will only just be heading into a long and robust middle age. Importers: Vineyard Research, Inc., Wellesley, MA; Ewald Moseler Selections, Portland OR; Old Vine Imports, San Francisco, CA.