1990 Alfred Merkelbach Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Auslese

Community Tasting Notes (5) Avg Score: 93 points

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View coremill's profile
  • Report Issue

  3/12/2021 - coremill wrote: 87 Points

  Fully mature, delicate, but still with some life. Most of the sugar has faded, this is much less ripe than modern auslese. A disaster when paired with spicy Thai food, this was much better on its own.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View straight outta iowa's profile
  • Report Issue

  9/25/2018 - straight outta iowa Likes this wine: 97 Points

  The auslese got the evening started on a high note. Cork was soaked, and resisted even the somm's valiant efforts with the ah-so, so he graciously pushed the rest in, strained and decanted. I think he was more excited to try it than we were! Anyway, he re-emerges 5-10 minutes later with a magnum decanter and a weary look on his face. I said, "Oh no!" He quickly smiled and said, "Just messin' with ya." Whew. I have always been amazed at the resilience of older auslese. The color was a beautiful old gold, not unlike the NO Saints helmets. There was so much going on in this wine: botrytis, tropical fruits, petrol, smoke, kerosene. It was clearly a sweet wine, but time had mellowed it almost to an "off dry" level, with the abundant acid a perfect foil for the sweetness. The wine was extraordinary with a marrow dish. I held on to my remaining 1/2 glass through the course of the dinner, taking sips here and there, without regard for its eventual reversion to room temperature. It was that good. Sort of a vino da meditazione.

  1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View Vinophil2000's profile
  • Report Issue

  7/12/2018 - Vinophil2000 Likes this wine: 90 Points

  Keller Jochen D.
  Ürziger Würzgarten Auslese 1990, halbtrocken.
  Toch voll Da! Gereift, gefühlte 12 Gr. RZ. Deutliche Säure, Mosel-typisch eher leichtgewichtig mit nur 10,5% Vol.
  Getrockneter Apfel, kaum Petrol. Sehr schön! Noch 2-3+ Jahre haltbar! Auch nach drei Tagen im Kühlschrank kein Zeichen von Schwäche.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View acyso's profile
  • Report Issue

  2/17/2017 - acyso wrote: 98 Points

  A Rieslingfeier of our Own; 2/13/2017-2/18/2017 (Traben-Trarbach, Germany): #10-91. This wine is etched indelibly in my mind -- the result of an incredibly generous gesture from the brothers Merkelbach. The nose on this showed lots of petrol upon opening, but a lot of that blew off after a little bit of time. What emerges is a wine extremely similar to the legendary 1990 Joh. Jos. Christoffel UW Auction Auslese. It is simultaneously rich and powerful but tempered by acidity. There's a touch of botrytis. The fruit is still incredibly fresh but counterbalanced by many secondary characteristics. Certainly the sweetness has been diminished by time, but this is precisely what an aged Auslese of impeccable pedigree should be.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View winonelson's profile
  • Report Issue

  12/22/2013 - winonelson wrote:

  This needed 45 minutes in a decanter to blow off bottle stink and to let the fruit emerge. After that, a lovely balanced auslese with good fruit and a bit of lingering sweetness (although significantly less than the 2006 Donnhoff Hermannsholle spatlese that preceded it). This bottle was purchased upon initial release and properly stored since.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.