2011 Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Auslese GK

Mango and overripe melons dominate already in the nose of Oliver Haag’s 2011 Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Auslese Gold Capsule A.P. #9, and on the palate tend in a syrupy direction, mingled with caramel, honey, marzipan, and nougat. This is all about sheer richness and flattering botrytis, but although impressively luxuriant and long, it lacks the dynamic interplay, delicacy, or mineral dimensions that characterize the best wines in the present collection. Expect it to last for a quarter century though, during which it may well reveal further dimensions as well as become more rarified. “We started picking at the beginning of October,” relates Oliver Haag “because must weights were already high for Kabinett, but there was good acidity.” Haag pressed whole clusters rather than either crushing or permitting skin contact for his dry wines, and tended to favor a higher percentage of stainless steel for vinification and elevage because, as he puts it, “the material was all so ripe that I was worried it would come off as too opulent and voluminous.” Without question, he thereby puts his finger on a legitimate concern, and his own wines illustrate the truth that higher alcoholic volume and opulence – no matter what appears on the Riesling’s label – aren’t necessarily virtues, and in particular not in the context of this vintage. “To convey a sense of levity this year,” notes Haag, “was not so easy. Not that there was much botrytis out there,” he adds, though fortunately that fact did not deter him from rendering several spectacular ennobled wines in small volumes. Importer: Rudi Wiest, Cellars International, Carlsbad, CA; tel. (800) 596-9463