2016 Markus Molitor Saarburger Rausch Riesling Auslese ** Gold Capsule

The first (out of six total) three-starred sweet Auslesen that Molitor managed to select and that I tasted for this report, the lean and elegant yet complex and vitalizing 2016 Riesling Saarburger Rausch Auslese *** (Golden Capsule) opens with a clear and concentrated, beautifully piquant and stony-scented bouquet of citrus aromas and, yes, the very typical and always refreshing Rausch flintiness. Lush and terribly intense but fine and elegant on the palate, this is an amazing Riesling with a very long and salty finish. The acidity is enormous here, but it is still ripe and perfectly integrated, carrying and lifting this gorgeously lush and mouth-filling top Auslese into our memories. The finish is clear, pure, fresh and salty, but at the same time, it is so generous and lush that it marks one of the finest sweet Auslesen I have tasted this year along the Saar and Mosel. Bottled in September 2017; tasted March 2018.