2002 Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Auslese * - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (5/27/2015)
I was doing some cellar reorganization the other day, and ran across my bottles of this wine. I grabbed one, and popped it in the fridge, figuring my wife and I would get to it sooner or later. Well last night was sooner, and the wine was a revelation. From the first pour it was a riot of tropical fruit, strawberries and ethereal spices. Normally when a wine smells this good the palate has a hard time living up to the aromatics, but this was an exception to that, as the palate impression built upon what was promised by the nose. The depth of fruit from the very front all the way through the finish exceeded any other Riesling I have had this year, and really stunned both of us. The complexity promised by the aromas emerged after a few minutes in the glass, with the acidity carrying a firm mineral impression to the finish. The wine was perceptibly sweet, yet perfectly balanced by the acids, and never felt heavy. We were sharing a glass, and each of us kept grabbing for it at the same time. Every time I would pour more the wine would suddenly just disappear.
This was an amazing Riesling that was completely on par with the fabulous 2001 version of the same wine. It had plenty of stuffing, so further aging is no problem at all, but drinking some now is highly recommended.