2010 Eitelsbacher Karthauserhofberg Auslese

Given its Pradikat and the vintage’s prominence of botrytis, it’s a surprise to be greeted by distinctly alkaline and wet stone aromas from Tyrell’s 2010 Eitelsbacher Karthauserhofberg Riesling Auslese, and those features subsequently serve as a sort of sounding board for honey-laced, vanilla-tinged red currant preserves and pineapple on a buoyant and surprisingly firm and bright palate. This finishes with a delightful sense of transparency to and interactivity with mineral nuances and I suspect that not only will it remain delightful and fascinating for at least a quarter century it will also gain further complexity. ”For the dry wines, it was clear that the musts had to be de-acidified,” asserts Christoph Tyrell, for whom trocken bottlings form not only the majority of his production but also the portion closest to his own palate and heart. The results are less vintage-typical than at many addresses, but one could get a good argument going as to whether or not that is a compliment when it comes to Riesling trocken. “It was painful,” Tyrell narrates, “to witness blocks that were healthy one day and rot-afflicted the next, yet to have to keep waiting to pick. I don’t want to experience any more of this kind of pressure from Nature!” The glory of this year’s collection is its nobly sweet wines which were for the most part picked ahead of the rest. As Tyrell likes to emphasize, waning days, cooler nights, and an increasing dew point all work against retaining really noble rot in the late innings, even assuming it doesn’t rain (which obviously one couldn’t in 2010). That said, Tyrell’s couple of later-picked vintage 2010 elixirs are quite distinctly delectable. Importer: Rudi Wiest, Cellars International, Carlsbad, CA 800 596 9463

Given its Pradikat and the vintage’s prominence of botrytis, it’s a surprise to be greeted by distinctly alkaline and wet stone aromas from Tyrell’s 2010 Eitelsbacher Karthauserhofberg Riesling Auslese, and those features subsequently serve as a sort of sounding board for honey-laced, vanilla-tinged red currant preserves and pineapple on a buoyant and surprisingly firm and bright palate. This finishes with a delightful sense of transparency to and interactivity with mineral nuances and I suspect that not only will it remain delightful and fascinating for at least a quarter century it will also gain further complexity. ||”For the dry wines, it was clear that the musts had to be de-acidified,” asserts Christoph Tyrell, for whom trocken bottlings form not only the majority of his production but also the portion closest to his own palate and heart. The results are less vintage-typical than at many addresses, but one could get a good argument going as to whether or not that is a compliment when it comes to Riesling trocken. “It was painful,” Tyrell narrates, “to witness blocks that were healthy one day and rot-afflicted the next, yet to have to keep waiting to pick. I don’t want to experience any more of this kind of pressure from Nature!” The glory of this year’s collection is its nobly sweet wines which were for the most part picked ahead of the rest. As Tyrell likes to emphasize, waning days, cooler nights, and an increasing dew point all work against retaining really noble rot in the late innings, even assuming it doesn’t rain (which obviously one couldn’t in 2010). That said, Tyrell’s couple of later-picked vintage 2010 elixirs are quite distinctly delectable. eRobertParker.com.April, 2012