#08-05, 8% abv. There's a small whiff of sulphur at the beginning, but this is showing quite a few advanced characteristics already. The petrol aromas are already starting to develop. Very rounded character, with just barely enough acid to keep it from getting flabby. Showing lots of ripe yellow fruit character in contrast to the white fruits of the Rotlay that we drank alongside.

#14-05, 8% abv. This has much more white fruit character than the Schmitt. Racier, more tension, and more acidic cut as well. Despite the higher acidity, this still has lots of fruit, with tart pineapple and white peach showing prominently. I felt this was much more focussed than the Schmitt, and scored it a 95 originally. With just a few hours of air though, this started falling apart pretty significantly, with all the elements now showing no integration whatsoever. Drink up?

#35-04, 8.5% abv. From half-bottle. This showed a very golden character, but no sign of overripeness at all. Rich and opulent, but restrained by a surprisingly high amount of acidity (it felt like this had more acidity than the 2004 Schmitt!). Finely balanced, and surprisingly refreshing. The 2003 that I have been drinking have been consistently good -- I think that I have drastically underrated the vintage.

#20-03, 8.5% abv. Add 2002 to another one of those deeply underrated vintages. This shows a fair bit of riper fruit, but nothing too ripe nor too racy. In fact, this is about as middle-of-the-road as you could get. The acidity and sweetness here are also in perfect balance. There's a certain happy peachiness about this wine which makes it an absolutely treat to drink. Showing fantastically now, but in no danger of decline at all.

#27-11, 8.5% abv. Extremely advanced golden colour. Sweet and fat on the palate, but showing absolutely nothing else. Where's the acidity?

#17-11, 7.5% abv. Apricots, stone fruits, and a slight bit of botrytis spice as well? I know 2010 isn't a super botrytis vintage but hey, you taste what you taste. Intensely sweet but that powerful 2010 acidity holds everything in check. One of the heftiest wines we tasted tonight, I really liked the potency here, and many good things lie ahead for this powerful riesling.

#17-06, 9% abv. From half-bottle. Very honeyed and ripe; this is an absolutely massive Auslese that suffers from Praedikat-creep. It drinks at a BA level, but is missing the botrytis. There just isn't enough acid here for me, but the sheer power and density of this is really something to behold. An absolute powerhouse that will take many, many years to resolve.

#02-77, 9.5% abv. Served blind. Clearly old riesling, and judging from the colour and the moderate amount of residual sugar left, Auslese-level. It was clearly too advanced to be from the 80s, but showing more sugar than I'd expect for things before the 70s. So, mid-70s riesling. As to from where, I was talked into thinking that this wasn't Mosel, as it was showing a more roundness and less minerality. There was also an interesting smokey note on the nose. At the end of the day, I couldn't place the region of the wine, but I did nail its age.

Super high-toned red fruit on the nose, with some clear stem influences as well. I'm not particularly enamoured of this wine; it isn't showing very much fruit and is instead a bit shrill. There's a fair bit of astringency here too, and I thought that there was a bit too much oak on this for what it was. But maybe it's all just palate fatigue from all the riesling?