Geltz Zilliken Rausch Auslese GK-L 2010

Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

Hanno Zilliken’s search for what he calls “the perfect Auslese” culminates in a 2010 Saarburger Rausch Riesling Auslese long gold capsule A.P. #1, the last of four wines (all but one, Auslese) that he offered for auction the week after I tasted with him in September. Lime zest; musky, sharp rose-radish; truffle; and alkaline, saline sea breeze lend the nose an ominously prickly and intriguing aura. This hits the palate with such implosive concentration that it tugs at your tear ducts as much as your salivary glands. Imagine simultaneous immersion in fresh lemon and lime juice; a field full of fungus; peach and mango preserves; and the ocean. The adjectives “bright,” “severe,” and “gripping” don’t begin to do justice to what I’m experiencing while hooked up to this Riesling. Don’t even think of touching the cables much less changing the battery on such a high-voltage, spark-throwing self-charging power-pack. Perhaps take a peak under the cork in five or six years? I’m really not sure what that will tell us. But I am guessing perhaps in two decades things will take shape, and we’ll know how close this already formidable accomplishment came to Zilliken’s dream of Auslese perfection. The wine will probably outlive all but a few folks who read this note in 2012.

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