2010 Niederberg Helden Auslese Goldkapsel

Thomas Haag’s 2010 Lieser Niederberg Helden Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule is more delicate and wafting than the corresponding Spatlesen (which were already striking in those departments). Mint steeped in kiwi and honeydew melon liqueur makes for a heady nose and luxuriantly luscious yet practically weightless, honeyed palate that would become syrupy were it not for the electric current of acidity that courses through this wine all the way to its penetrating, gripping, invigorating finish, carrying with it a remarkable sense of stony minerality and mouthwatering salinity such as one wouldn’t ordinarily associate with a wine this ripe. This strikingly bright, almost inhalative Auslese should be worth following for at least a quarter century. Thomas Haag – who picked into November – is one of those who swears to have only de-acidified (and then as must) a very few lots of lesser wine, by which it transpired that he meant principally material for his generic Q.b.A. and Kabinett trocken bottlings, which I didn’t get chance to taste. But whether or not you’re willing to accept his assertion about (eschewing) de-acidification, this is one of the most successful collections of its vintage, and the already proven ability of wines from this estate to perform a high-sugar, high wire act, having been sorely-tested, has once again been confirmed. “Of course,” notes Haag, “to balance these acids meant high residual sugar and correspondingly low alcohol” – by which he means, even by his standards! (From Niederberg Helden Spatlese “up” in Haag’s collection, the alcohol is a mere 7% – roughly half a degree less than usual at this address – until it drops to the legal limit of 5.5% with the pair of Beerenauslesen.) Long fermentations and extended lees contact were important to achieve balance, Haag opines, especially for his dry wines. “These 2010s as a group are exciting if also highly unusual wines,” he adds, and I couldn’t agree more. (Notice – many of you will breathe a sigh of relief – that in a fortuitous departure from this estate’s norm, there is only one pair of wines that requires you to check A.P.#s in order to disambiguate. Every other wine has its own complete verbal description; what’s more, Thomas Haag continues the practice inaugurated last year of sneaking a wine’s gold capsule status into tiny print right on its label, so there’s no need to ask for a standard unit or take out a tape measure to tell gold capsule from long gold capsule!) Importer: Rudi Wiest, Cellars International, Carlsbad, CA; tel. (800) 596-9463