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95 WA. "'This is sort of a middle thing between Spätlese and Auslese, with a few raisined berries and botrytis included,' explains Willi Schaefer of his 2011 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese #5. 'In most years, we would have bottled this as an Auslese, but we had quite a few of those already this year.' Apple fruit shades more into jellied quince here, engendering a honeyed cast which – like its sense of nut paste – is perfectly complemented by this wine’s creamy texture. Yet at the same time there is genuine transparency, including of a headily floral, pungently black tea-like, and stony, crystalline mineral sort. The crustacean-like alliance of sweetness and salinity in the finish here sets my salivary glands pumping uncontrollably and the torrent of juiciness, liquid perfume, and kaleidoscopic shimmering stoniness serve for excitement apt to last a quarter century or more." Wine Advocate #206, Apr 2013 |