2002 Andreas Laible Durbacher Plauelrain Spatlese trocken SL
Lovely textbook lightly-golden crisp herbal stalky riesling. Not a blockbuster in any way, but lovely to drink and will finish the rest of the bottles with some nice meals this year.
2002 Bergdolt Ruppertsberger Reiterspfad Spatlese trocken
More depth and punch than the Laible. Succulent sunny richness but not at all heavy thanks to the enjoyable zesty, savory and lively texture. I very much look forward to drinking the rest of these with and without meals.
2002 Schmitt-Wagner Longuicher Maximiner Herrenberg Auslese
A slinky loose ‘old-fashioned’ auslese that doesn’t inspire (or require?) much analysis, but is easy to pour for guests. Duly noted.
2002 Reinhold Haart Piesporter Goldtropfchen Auslese
Plenty of those thick deeply-golden drops here, and the aging riesling apricot flavors are stretching out into their own. But there is still some definition and verve to the structure, so all in all it pleases even though it doesn’t amaze.
2004 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Spatlese #10
Some slight aging creamy-ness but still lots of crunchy-crunch-crunch clarity. Hard to read how those two components will be resolved so I can either open another bottle soon for further investigation or sit on the bottles and wait for integration to occur on its own terms. Will see.
2004 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Spatlese #9
Absolute joy. Fresh, crisp, delicate, ethereal. So much juicy refreshment and so much unmitigated and amazing pleasure.