2004 Alfred Merkelbach - Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Auslese 6

The Merkelbach’s most successful wine this vintage is their 2004 Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Auslese A.P. #18. Smelling of strawberries and flowers, this comes onto the palate with surprising density, small-berry compression of fresh and jammed fruits, brown spices, and subtle but vivid notes of wet stone and mineral salts. A faint hint of honey and oiliness of texture point in the direction of noble rot, yet this absurdly good value Riesling Auslese never loses its bright, juicy, citrus and fresh fruit side (to say nothing of its spice and minerality). This was a vintage in which the Merkelbach brothers’ approach – block-harvesting; passive, ultra-traditional vinification; cask-by-cask bottling – might seem set to capture the best of Mosel mineral transparency and pristine fruit. That some of the results, while attractive, missed the quality that this estate can achieve at its best, was clearly a consequence (despite not commencing their harvest until late October) of faintly unripe and inharmonious acids. That said, the best of these are a delight. I often wonder how many (or rather, how few) of the brothers’ American customers (they sell relatively little wine at home in Germany) realize and have experienced for themselves the consistent ageworthiness (not to mention generally outstanding value) of Merkelbach Rieslings. Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300