Utterly classic ÜrzWürz nose of strawberry, yellow apple, and sorrel. In the mouth, the wine has medium body with a round fruit texture coupled with bright zesty acidity and a touch of sweetness remaining. Some quince jelly flavor indicates that it's in early maturity. A long, resonant finish beautifully reprises the strawberry and apple from the nose. A wonderful, traditionally styled Mosel Riesling with impressive delineation.
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Mini Wednesday Wine Lunch (Rocknroller's (Kevin & Vicki's Place)): An easy to like more tropical styled Riesling. Mango, pineapple, and apple, mored modest fusil, wet stone, a little floral. Quite tangy on the palate, the apple comes through first but the tropical notes are in close lockstep, apple peel, fusil, slate.
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Drinking quite well. Served at a German wine tasting it was impressive. A left over open bottle was tasted quite a bit later and it was still delicious. This wine will last for a long, long time. Light and refreshing.
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Beautiful, floral and green fruited. Apple, pear. Green apple and pear skin on the palate, with great effervescence, loads of sweetness, but nice balancing zesty acidity. Some green tropical fruit notes with air. Long finish of sweet apple. Yum.
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Two more bottles with consistent experiences. A terrific wine. Lightly effervescent lime, mandarins, flowers; chalky, medium bodied, light sweetness, green apple acidity. Amazing complexity and length. Long finish of green apple, lime, and mineral. Fantastic.
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Two bottles with very consistent notes. Green apple, green berries, stone fruit, minerals; quite intense, with a heavy dose of sweetness and nice acidity to balance. Long finish of minerally lime and green apple. Very primary; very yummy.
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I've been looking forward to trying one of these for several years, and finally pulled a case from storage. I hadn't remembered the level of sweetness (high), but it retains the amazing acidity to balance it. Much richer and bigger than a traditional Spatlese, but excellent apple, pear, tropical, and floral notes that build and build with air. Lovely.
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Very enjoyable with notes of sour green apple, citrus zest, orange blossom honey and a bit of minerals. The sweetness is there but beautifully balanced by noticeable acidity. Long finish. This should age like a champ.
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(Mostly) Rieslings at Lan Sheng (Lan Sheng, NYC): I'm still amazed at how Merkelbach pulled off such an elegant, delicate wine in a vintage where so many Rieslings are all about power and size. The flavours here are very classic Mosel; apple and citrus fruits, slate, florality and a faint spiciness, all conveyed on an incredibly light frame with bright acidity keeping it very refreshing and focused.
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Great example of this wine. Compactly framed, great acidic lift, and many facets of complexity, with red berry notes dancing on the palate. Just one terrific wine.
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Classy and filigree - floral and rainwater nose preceding a palate of mouthwateringly tart apples with namesake Würzgarten spice, lemony citrus, and tropical fruits. Great 2010 richness yet flawless balance and integration.
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Awesome as ever. Floral and mineral aromas around a spectrum of Riesling fruit ranging from more classic citrus and apple to riper melon and tropical flavours. There's plenty of richness and sweetness here, but fantastic acidity beneath that keeps this incredibly vibrant, precise and perfectly balanced.
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Second bottle of this I've had. I flat out love it. Heavy slate, spice and stone fruit nose. Closer to a normal spat than a '10 freak. Elegant and a great companion to dinner not a flashy tramp. Long finish riding high but not searing acidity:
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For awhile now I've heard the vintage personality of 2010 being described as extremely ripe and intense and extremely acidic, but most of the wines I've tasted have only managed to live up to the latter half of that characterization - this is the exception, and has the richness (at least relative to the usual Merkelbach standard where a spatlese is actually a spatlese, more or less) to take some of the aggression of the acidity. This may be more in line with what you would normally see with an auslese wrapper at Merkelbach--even has some pineapple tropicality--but consistent with the modern norm for spatlese.
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Ruthlessly sexy. Way big and rich for these boys. More fruit than spice in this vintage on the nose but on the palate there is still plenty. Electirc, great finish. Tons of RS but also tons of acid to balance it out. This is richer than mor normal Merkelbach Auslese.
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Spiky malic, underripe green apple nose. Almost searing mineral, lemon palate that has an effervescent sense to it. Puts on a little weight with air and shows some pear and riper fruit. I like the cut and dryness here.
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Very prominent granny smith apple on the nose, a stark contrast to other vintages at Merkelbach. The tension between the fruit ripeness and high acidity of the vintage is on full display on the palate here, lending an amazingly energetic tension to the wine. It will be fascinating to follow the evolution here.
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Very pale yellow-green Nose > Big quince, key-lime, lemon & lime-oil & pineapple/tart-pineapple. Creamy & rich, but mostly very defined, slightly pungent stony/slatey/steely fruit & fruit oils. Nectarine, apricot, white-peach, blood-orange, & asian-pear. Deep, shy, big, intense & extremely mineral laden. Ravishing. Palate > Big, rich, tight, & intense. Showing huge stony/slatey lime-oil infused fruit. Massive wave of citrus follows with intense key-lime, blood-orange, pink-grapefruit, & tangy, pungent pineapple. Round, long, concentrated & big. Intensity is eye-opening. Seems only lightly sweet with intense spine of acidity coming up in mid-palate along with an even bigger wave of pungent, intense key-lime, lime-zest, & dense white-nectarine & tart-apricot. Powerful, intense fruit carries through a long, intense finish that echoes with pungent, pretty lime/blood-orange/pink-grapefruit. The stony/slatey pungent Intensity builds all the way through to the finish. The finish lasts for minutes, & leaves a beautiful, slightly bitter limey/stony/slateyness that keeps it's intensity an unbelievably long time. A friggin' Wow! wine, & the best Merkelbach wine I've ever had (the only others close are the '10 Kabi & Auslese)
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Like the last bottle; a fantastic Spätlese and great value. Opened alongside the 2010 Kinheimer Rosenberg, comes across deeper and more layered, but I'm glad I've got a few of both wines in the cellar.
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Packed with flavour, yet comes across remarkably light and delicate, almost weightless. There's a spectrum of Mosel fruit ranging from ripe strawberries and citrus fruits to slightly tarter green apple notes, a solid base of slate beneath and moderate sweetness matched by powerful acidity that gives this tremendous cut and precision. This is one of the best balanced 2010s I've had yet from Germany, and I definitely need to get some in the cellar.
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Wine is stellar and archetypically Urziger Wurtzgarden with red cherry notes and plenty of spice. The wine is very well balanced and very correctly Mosel, neither too acidic nor too concentrated... its simply beautiful... and I drew this conclusion before I read Terry's note....
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By the glass at Gramercy Tavern (front room). NB - this note is based on memory and not written notes. Young and fresh on the nose - very bright. Lots of juicy citrus - lime/tangerine, with the signature brown spices. Lively on the palate - not as racy as I would like, but delicious. Nose - 5/6, Palate - 4/6, Finish - 4/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 1/2 = 14/20.
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4/27/2024 - jlm wrote:
Utterly classic ÜrzWürz nose of strawberry, yellow apple, and sorrel. In the mouth, the wine has medium body with a round fruit texture coupled with bright zesty acidity and a touch of sweetness remaining. Some quince jelly flavor indicates that it's in early maturity. A long, resonant finish beautifully reprises the strawberry and apple from the nose. A wonderful, traditionally styled Mosel Riesling with impressive delineation.
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12/12/2023 - dlduchon Likes this wine: 91 Points
Fresh and delicious, nice balance with acidity, no sign of old age, super tasty.
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12/7/2022 - Richard P Howden Likes this wine: 91 Points
Lovely peach, honey, mango mose and med+ density palate with more honeyed tropical fruit. Nice well balanced tart finish.
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1/29/2020 - rocknroller wrote: 92 Points
Mini Wednesday Wine Lunch (Rocknroller's (Kevin & Vicki's Place)): An easy to like more tropical styled Riesling. Mango, pineapple, and apple, mored modest fusil, wet stone, a little floral. Quite tangy on the palate, the apple comes through first but the tropical notes are in close lockstep, apple peel, fusil, slate.
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3/20/2017 - dlduchon Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drinking quite well. Served at a German wine tasting it was impressive. A left over open bottle was tasted quite a bit later and it was still delicious. This wine will last for a long, long time. Light and refreshing.
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11/25/2016 - indiscriminate palate wrote: 92 Points
Amazing depth; lime, mineral, green apple; quite sweet, but excellent balance. Yum yum.
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9/23/2016 - indiscriminate palate wrote: 91 Points
Beautiful, floral and green fruited. Apple, pear. Green apple and pear skin on the palate, with great effervescence, loads of sweetness, but nice balancing zesty acidity. Some green tropical fruit notes with air. Long finish of sweet apple. Yum.
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8/23/2016 - indiscriminate palate wrote: 93 Points
Two more bottles with consistent experiences. A terrific wine. Lightly effervescent lime, mandarins, flowers; chalky, medium bodied, light sweetness, green apple acidity. Amazing complexity and length. Long finish of green apple, lime, and mineral. Fantastic.
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6/28/2016 - indiscriminate palate wrote: 92 Points
Two bottles with very consistent notes. Green apple, green berries, stone fruit, minerals; quite intense, with a heavy dose of sweetness and nice acidity to balance. Long finish of minerally lime and green apple. Very primary; very yummy.
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6/22/2016 - indiscriminate palate wrote: 93 Points
Yum! Peach, apricot, mineral, mandarines, lime. Long finish of tart citrus and minerals. Yum!
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5/15/2016 - indiscriminate palate wrote: 92 Points
Two bottles disappeared in a jiffy. Ripe apple and tropical fruits, minerals, great acid cut; high sweetness, but kept in check. Delicious.
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3/27/2016 - indiscriminate palate wrote: 92 Points
I've been looking forward to trying one of these for several years, and finally pulled a case from storage. I hadn't remembered the level of sweetness (high), but it retains the amazing acidity to balance it. Much richer and bigger than a traditional Spatlese, but excellent apple, pear, tropical, and floral notes that build and build with air. Lovely.
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9/30/2013 - David_T Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very enjoyable with notes of sour green apple, citrus zest, orange blossom honey and a bit of minerals. The sweetness is there but beautifully balanced by noticeable acidity. Long finish. This should age like a champ.
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7/20/2013 - salil wrote: 92 Points
(Mostly) Rieslings at Lan Sheng (Lan Sheng, NYC): I'm still amazed at how Merkelbach pulled off such an elegant, delicate wine in a vintage where so many Rieslings are all about power and size. The flavours here are very classic Mosel; apple and citrus fruits, slate, florality and a faint spiciness, all conveyed on an incredibly light frame with bright acidity keeping it very refreshing and focused.
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12/15/2012 - baroloboy55 wrote: 93 Points
Great example of this wine. Compactly framed, great acidic lift, and many facets of complexity, with red berry notes dancing on the palate. Just one terrific wine.
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11/24/2012 - bpj87 wrote: 93 Points
Classy and filigree - floral and rainwater nose preceding a palate of mouthwateringly tart apples with namesake Würzgarten spice, lemony citrus, and tropical fruits. Great 2010 richness yet flawless balance and integration.
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10/26/2012 - salil wrote: 92 Points
Awesome as ever. Floral and mineral aromas around a spectrum of Riesling fruit ranging from more classic citrus and apple to riper melon and tropical flavours. There's plenty of richness and sweetness here, but fantastic acidity beneath that keeps this incredibly vibrant, precise and perfectly balanced.
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7/26/2012 - liteagilis wrote: 93 Points
Second bottle of this I've had. I flat out love it. Heavy slate, spice and stone fruit nose. Closer to a normal spat than a '10 freak. Elegant and a great companion to dinner not a flashy tramp. Long finish riding high but not searing acidity:
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7/5/2012 - Keith Levenberg wrote: 91 Points
For awhile now I've heard the vintage personality of 2010 being described as extremely ripe and intense and extremely acidic, but most of the wines I've tasted have only managed to live up to the latter half of that characterization - this is the exception, and has the richness (at least relative to the usual Merkelbach standard where a spatlese is actually a spatlese, more or less) to take some of the aggression of the acidity. This may be more in line with what you would normally see with an auslese wrapper at Merkelbach--even has some pineapple tropicality--but consistent with the modern norm for spatlese.
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5/22/2012 - liteagilis wrote: 93 Points
Ruthlessly sexy. Way big and rich for these boys. More fruit than spice in this vintage on the nose but on the palate there is still plenty. Electirc, great finish. Tons of RS but also tons of acid to balance it out. This is richer than mor normal Merkelbach Auslese.
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4/19/2012 - salil wrote:
More of the same. Vibrant, precise, showing bright fruit and minerality and just buzzing with energy. One of my favourite wines in 2010.
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4/2/2012 - andtheodor wrote:
Spiky malic, underripe green apple nose. Almost searing mineral, lemon palate that has an effervescent sense to it. Puts on a little weight with air and shows some pear and riper fruit. I like the cut and dryness here.
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1/8/2012 - jlm wrote:
Very prominent granny smith apple on the nose, a stark contrast to other vintages at Merkelbach. The tension between the fruit ripeness and high acidity of the vintage is on full display on the palate here, lending an amazingly energetic tension to the wine. It will be fascinating to follow the evolution here.
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12/30/2011 - Rob Hansult Likes this wine: 95 Points
Very pale yellow-green
Nose > Big quince, key-lime, lemon & lime-oil & pineapple/tart-pineapple. Creamy & rich, but mostly very defined, slightly pungent stony/slatey/steely fruit & fruit oils. Nectarine, apricot, white-peach, blood-orange, & asian-pear.
Deep, shy, big, intense & extremely mineral laden.
Ravishing.
Palate > Big, rich, tight, & intense. Showing huge stony/slatey lime-oil infused fruit. Massive wave of citrus follows with intense key-lime, blood-orange, pink-grapefruit, & tangy, pungent pineapple.
Round, long, concentrated & big. Intensity is eye-opening.
Seems only lightly sweet with intense spine of acidity coming up in mid-palate along with an even bigger wave of pungent, intense key-lime, lime-zest, & dense white-nectarine & tart-apricot.
Powerful, intense fruit carries through a long, intense finish that echoes with pungent,
pretty lime/blood-orange/pink-grapefruit.
The stony/slatey pungent Intensity builds all the way through to the finish. The finish lasts for minutes, & leaves a beautiful, slightly bitter limey/stony/slateyness that keeps it's intensity an unbelievably long time.
A friggin' Wow! wine, & the best Merkelbach wine I've ever had (the only others close are the '10 Kabi & Auslese)
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11/21/2011 - salil wrote: 92 Points
Like the last bottle; a fantastic Spätlese and great value. Opened alongside the 2010 Kinheimer Rosenberg, comes across deeper and more layered, but I'm glad I've got a few of both wines in the cellar.
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11/2/2011 - salil wrote: 92 Points
Packed with flavour, yet comes across remarkably light and delicate, almost weightless. There's a spectrum of Mosel fruit ranging from ripe strawberries and citrus fruits to slightly tarter green apple notes, a solid base of slate beneath and moderate sweetness matched by powerful acidity that gives this tremendous cut and precision. This is one of the best balanced 2010s I've had yet from Germany, and I definitely need to get some in the cellar.
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10/29/2011 - baroloboy55 wrote: 92 Points
Wine is stellar and archetypically Urziger Wurtzgarden with red cherry notes and plenty of spice. The wine is very well balanced and very correctly Mosel, neither too acidic nor too concentrated... its simply beautiful... and I drew this conclusion before I read Terry's note....
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9/28/2011 - Seth Rosenberg wrote: 88 Points
By the glass at Gramercy Tavern (front room). NB - this note is based on memory and not written notes. Young and fresh on the nose - very bright. Lots of juicy citrus - lime/tangerine, with the signature brown spices. Lively on the palate - not as racy as I would like, but delicious. Nose - 5/6, Palate - 4/6, Finish - 4/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 1/2 = 14/20.
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