2011 Zeltinger Schlossberg Spatlese

Selbach-Oster’s 2011 Zeltinger Schlossberg Riesling Spatlese offers clear, lusciously juicy, apple, papaya, pink grapefruit and blood orange tinged with honey and transparent to smoky, stony, and saline nuances that follow into a dynamic, shimmering finish. At 7.5 grams per liter this is as high as total acidity gets (with one frozen exception) in this year’s Selbach collection, and there does indeed seem to exist some correlation with the vivacity and clarity on exhibit. Look for at least two decades of pleasure in this wine’s company. Picking for Riesling began chez Selbach in the first days of October and finished already on the 26th. “We harvested consistent with a principle on which I put ever-greater emphasis: to pick ripe, but not overripe,” remarks Johannes Selbach. “The luxury we had is that not only did the weather remain stable, but we did not have to deal with volatile acids or acetification” of grapes on the vine. Fruit was typically crushed for the dry wines, but not permitted skin contact, although Selbach emphasizes that his usual practice of encouraging relatively long stays on the fine lees for every style of Riesling he crafts was critical to donating structure, complexity, and a sense of stuffing to these products of a relatively low-acid, high-yielding vintage. Two T.B.A.s and a B.A. were still fermenting as of last autumn and will have to be assessed in connection with my vintage 2012 report. Importers: There are a few regional importers of certain Selbach wines, but the majority (and those whose prices are noted above) are Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300