2011 Scharzhof Riesling

Muller’s 2010 Riesling Scharzhof is, as usual, sourced primarily from sites in Saarburg, but strikes me as signaling its Wiltingen component in its high-toned suggestions of mints, wintergreen, verbena and lily-of-the-valley. A downright delicate palate performance delivers subtle and animated interaction of herbal, apple-y, quince-like, lemony and stony elements, leading to a refreshing, subtly sweet and satisfyingly sustained finish. This should remain delightful through at least 2016. Egon Muller’s 2011 collection – tasted last September at the Scharzhof in his absence – represents an intensively selective harvest that extended from mid-October into November and resulted in one of the numerically smallest number of individual bottlings in the history of this venerable estate smaller even than the number from 20100, but also some that will go down as landmarks in that history. It seems that – by way of explaining this paucity – in the realm of Kabinett and Spatlese, the individual lots were simply deemed to harmonize well with one another and amalgamated; while in upper-Pradikat realms, the aggregate volume was no larger than in other recent vintages. Importer: Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY; tel. (212) 355-0700