wrote:

94 Points

Tuesday, October 24, 2017 - Latest taste 11/16/2017. 1998 Müller-Catoir Mußbacher Eselshaut Riesling Eiswein AP 22 99; $90/375 ml, before bp, WineBid; $113 FOB Piqua, OH. Imported by Skurnik/Theise. 9.5 pabv.

Brief note:
November 16, emptied from balance of Coravin half-bottle to leTaster and Riesling Riedel. Cork-finished wet up sides; original Coravin October 23. At first refrigerator temperature. Scattered tears? (Possible need for better polishing of glasses!) Plenty bitty; now light-colored for type. Plenty of large tartrate plates visible with a little care.

Grass/redcurrant with fresh air, little or no radish; mildly baked apricot/honey confection. Showing vivid punchy lemony activity, with sufficient ripeness and residual to show a slightly light-TBA stylishness. Hits all the buttons but needs a little more integration for best pleasure--can prove a little palate-fatiguing now. 92/100 on pure pleasure; 94/100 on quality Give 2020-2030 for best results, and don't be afraid to decant an hour or three beforehand. Very early November 2 Eiswein harvest, similar to Doennhoff's triple early November ones.
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Extended evaluation:

A very interesting color presentation from this cork-finished half-bottle, a combination of brilliance and slight golden metallicity, with a warm amber haze growing to rich orange. From Coravin to Riedel Riesling and LeTaster. A very even but substantial sheeting shows. Over 24 hours grows more brilliant and more refractive--an adiamant beauty to look at.

The botrytis of this Eiswein is not hidden in its vividly grapy, somewhat forward fruit that presents itself initially--orange, clove, nutmeg, and mild bakeshop aromas, for instance, but underneath there is an almost pure redcurrant preserve impression. Grows with air into luscious apricot preserve and mild tobacco smoke underneath. Its amour propre is lost in dusty band-aid and powdered sugar, at least at first, until good sense comes to rescue it.

Very vivid, nearly searing acidity as it were laid on to what would be a beautiful breakfast confection built around a sweet pepper and thyme jelly. The texture and finish of this wine resembles 'fuzzy' apricot flower honey in a way, if such can be imagined. This wine is delightful as is but giving it another 3 to 7 years would be all to its (and our) good.

One of the greatest and earliest Eiswein vintages of my time; however, most of the best others are very 'clean' wines on average compared with this nobly-rotten one. This one is actually still a bit too edgy for best pleasure on opening and would give it about 3-5 more years if improvement on this axis is desired. It certainly will be a 30-year wine, well-kept! Second day supports this assessment, with its liquescence, caressing texture of lime zest, and clarity. 94/100 RPP.

The 'Donkey Skin' ('Eselshaut') of the Einzellage name refers to a German mythic 'fairy tale' related to 'Cinderella'. The donkey in question had the ability to turn dung into gold, as this vineyard unquestionably does.

This is a large sandy area (300 ha) that was reclassified in 1969 with similar surrounding areas (the 'Meerspinne') to the Deutscher Weinstraße/Neustadt (northern Pfalz) region and which this estate has exploited so brilliantlly under Hans-Gunther Schwarz and his successors. The ability of this acreage to produce fine wine could be more related to surface topography than soil composition, allowing frosty airs to descend and drain from the growing surface down into the Rheingraben. (See German-language edition of Wikipedia).
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Brief note:
November 16, emptied from balance of Coravin half-bottle to leTaster and Riesling Riedel. Cork-finished wet up sides; original Coravin October 23. At first refrigerator temperature. Scattered tears? (Possible need for better polishing of glasses!) Plenty bitty; now light-colored for type. Plenty of large tartrate plates visible with a little care.

Grass/redcurrant with fresh air, little or no radish; mildly baked apricot/honey confection. Showing vivid punchy lemony activity, with sufficient ripeness and residual to show a slightly light-TBA stylishness. Hits all the buttons but needs a little more integration for best pleasure--can prove a little palate-fatiguing now. 92/100 on pure pleasure; 94/100 on quality Give 2020-2030 for best results, and don't be afraid to decant an hour or three beforehand. Very early November 2 Eiswein harvest, similar to Doennhoff's triple early November 1.

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  • Comment posted by Cathair Chaladinn:

    12/16/2017 4:16:00 PM - Wonderful notes and yes an awesome wine !!!! Glad I have one half bottle more will keep at least a other five years before pulling the cork.

  • Comment posted by sweetstuff:

    12/17/2017 1:16:00 PM - I am glad you enjoyed these notes because I do attempt to learn, and teach, about the wines I taste, not always to the happiness of the CT reader. Perhaps I should add a warning note for mobile users that these files can be too long for easy reading on a I-phone.

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