2001 Kerpen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese * Artist Label - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (8/15/2018)
First one of these I’ve opened since purchasing on release. Has a unique capsule, fairly heavy metal foil with a seal that has to be broken away. When it finally comes loose, there’s the reason why: it’s a glass stopper, a nice surprise and an interesting aging experiment.
Some color here, a medium light honey gold. But everything seems perfectly proper: the lightest of petrol noses, with some fragrant fruit underneath, then a very rich, deep and lush palate, pretty good acidity for balance, with ripe peach, hints of apricot, red apple skin, gliding on a long finish that eventually reveals some hints of minerality through the rich sweetness. I don’t know if this has any botrytis, but it gives me a subtle sense of sauternes, without the bitter/metallic notes. All in all a very pleasurable, tasty wine. But as I am finding with almost every sweet Riesling I open, it’s not showing me the hoped for complexity and interest with age.
Edited after I read a note I wrote in 2014. I didn’t note the glass stopper, so I wonder if some bottles are cork, and some glass. (91 pts.)
The label is about as fun as you’ll fine:
Capsule and glass stopper:
