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Scharzhofberger Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese 2009 75cl

Wiltingen | Mosella | Germania
Esaurito

Altre annate

2009
Punteggi dei critici
98 Robert Parker
Esszencia-like in its alliance of near-gelatinous, creamy viscosity with near-weightlessness as well as its prominent themes of apricot and peach preserves, the Muller 2009 Scharzhofberger Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese ( not slated for bottling before spring of 2011) is undeniably embryonic, but at the same time already stunningly and intriguingly complex. Suggestions of roasted black truffle and concentrated meat stock and crustacean shell; lily-like perfume that liquefies into a slick, mouth-quickening essence; and an entire cabinet of brown spices help generate a show of inexhaustibly savory potential, irresistible seduction, and inexplicable mystery, to say nothing of nearly indelible persistence and indefatigable potential over the next half century and beyond. While Egon Muller harvested into November, he noted that the best results were mostly achieved before that, with "the Spatlesen and Auslesen picked in the early passes, which captured what there was of botrytis" on his vineyards, and the collection he fielded from 2009 is not merely notable for the extraordinary quality of select cuvees, but also for its outstanding consistency. Muller draws parallels with 1971, 1990, and 1997, while noting that his 2009s are higher in acidity than the estate's sensational 1997s. A comparison with 2007 also strikes me as inevitable, and I personally take Muller's self-deprecating remark that "in 2009 we tried to rectify certain failures of 2007" with a large grain of tartrate salt. Asked to clarify, he referred to his having in that year been less perseverant or conscientious ("konsequent") in the search for berries of top Auslese or T.B.A.-grade. (To whatever extent that was true of 2007, Muller certainly fooled me!) This year's litany of individual Kabinett bottlings represents a volume approximately equal to that of the collective Spatlesen; and despite Muller's decision to bottle his entire 2009 collection later than usual, one of those Kabinetts – an A.P. #2, and his sole lot of this vintage that represents an amalgamation of two fuders – had already been shipped from the winery without remainder by the time I visited in September. (As ill luck would have it, I learned too late to remedy this deficiency by press time that precisely this wine – at a suggested retail price of $60 – was the Kabinett being sold by Muller's national U.S. agent.) This year's Auslesen, notes Muller, tend to each represent the picking of one particular day from across numerous parcels. (As always, Muller wines from his monopole Braune Kupp are bottled under the Le Gallais label, but in my reports and our database, we do not treat Le Gallais as an independent estate, since it and the Scharzhof have for more than half a century operated as one.)
Produttore
Egon Müller Scharzhof
Egon Müller IV, uno dei più grandi produttori in Germania, è l'attuale proprietario della fattoria Scharzhof, originariamente fondata nel 1797 dal francese Jean-Jacques Koch. Secondo la storia locale, la zona fu probabilmente utilizzata per la coltivazione dell'uva fin dai tempi dei romani. Dopo la morte di Jean-Jacques, la proprietà fu divisa tra i suoi 7 figli. Sua figlia Elisabeth sposò Felix Müller, originario della Foresta Nera, e, per eredità e in seguito a ulteriori acquisti, verso il 1850 i due furono in grado di raddoppiare all’incirca la dimensione della proprietà. Il secondo figlio di Elisabeth, Egon Müller I, è stato determinante nel creare la reputazione di cui la tenuta di Scharzhof continua a godere ai nostri giorni, promuovendola attraverso mostre mondiali. L’azienda è stata tramandata dai discendenti di Egon, fino a quando non è stata presa in carico da Egon Müller IV, che ne è al timone. Egon predilige un approccio minimalista, come quello di suo padre, e crede che tutta la qualità provenga dal vigneto. È sua responsabilità racchiudere tutto il potenziale in ogni bottiglia intervenendo il meno possibile. Tutti i suoi vini provengono dai vigneti di Scharzhof, tra cui un QbA chiamato Scharzhof Riesling, Kabinett, Spatlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese e occasionalmente Ice Wine, che sono alcune delle espressioni puriste di Riesling prodotto al giorno d’oggi.