2016 Markus Molitor Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese *** Golden Capsule

A prototypical Mosel Auslese, but there is more concentration and a much better balance than most citizens of Planet Wine would expect from a sweet wine with less than 10% alcohol. Fantastic mineral freshness follows at the finish, making this very addictive. Drink or hold. This has decades of aging potential.

Tasted along with the three-starred 2016 Hubertuslay Auslese, Molitor's 2016 Riesling Graacher Himmelreich Auslese *** (Golden Capsule) is more discreet and flinty on the nose than the Kinheimer counterpart. (I'd love to open a second bottle to make sure this is the wine and not the cork, but I had just a single bottle.) It has bright fruit flavors and a lot of crushed stones but is still shy after pouring. The palate is highly elegant, pure, vital, salty and piquant: Graacher Himmelreich at its very best. With very fine raisin flavors, this has the filigree crystalline structure and stimulating salinity that makes the Himmelreich one of the most exciting single vineyards along the Middle Mosel. The finish is super clean, piquant and mouthwatering, with good grip and an almost dry (or mineral) finish. I recommend cellaring the 2016 for another 5 to 10 years. Tasted May 2018.

The 2016 Riesling Graacher Himmelreich Auslese *** (White Capsule) opens with very clear, super fine, precise and delicate yet deep, intense and concentrated fruit intertwined with just a hint of noble oak leaf notes. Full-bodied, fresh and very dense in its mineral structure, packed with mocha and nougat flavors, this is an elegant, highly vital and complex Himmelreich—by far the best dry Riesling I have ever tasted from this vineyard. Molitor's parcel is the steep part behind the Josephshof where the vines were planted in 1990. The soil is pretty stony, but there is also fine earth. The 2016 was fermented in a 2,000-liter oak vat plus a 225-liter barrique. The wine reveals enormous finesse and salinity and is spectacular in its purity and refreshing tension. This is so saliva-inducing that I tried to spit it four times—and failed four times. I tasted the wine three times in 14 days from the same bottle in March 2018. The second and third encounter showed a much fruitier, more classic Himmelreich style. The wine is the perfect expression of ripeness, elegance, finesse and freshness. Its finish is much (!) longer, more tensioned, salty and vibrantly fresh than any other wine I have ever had from this steep grand cru between Wehlen and Graach. Molitor's parcel is located pretty high (straight next to his Pinot Noir plot); the vines are "only" 26 years old, but the trunks are as big as if they were much older.