2018 Urziger Wurzgarten Auslese (3 star) GK
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Tasting notes
Molitor's 2018 Riesling Ürziger Würzgarten Auslese *** (Golden Capsule) opens with a concentrated, deep, clear and complex bouquet with crunchy stone and very fine lemon chutney aromas. Crystalline and clear on the palate, this is a playful, frisky, finessed and finely juicy, highly delicate and stimulatingly piquant and filigreed Würzgarten Auslese that represents very fine botrytis flavors and a great terroir. This is a gorgeous, weightless and pristine, persistently salty Riesling that can be aged for decades. Tasted at the domain in September 2020.
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Average Score
Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate
David Schildknecht, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Remarkably for an Auslese from exceedingly high-must-weight grapes and in a vintage characterized by intensely ripe fruit character, the first whiff reveals penetrating pungency of mint, cilantro, marjoram and cress, which delightfully complement site-typical scents of strawberry and kiwi. Here is one of those instances in the present collection where elevated must weight goes hand in hand with fresher fruit and greater animation than exhibited by many wines of lower Prädikat. The glossy palate evokes vanilla cream to contrast with and enhance the fresh-fruited as well as pungent yet coolingly green herbal concentration, and a superbly sustained finish is correspondingly multilayered and intense. This surely has a great future.
About the producer
Markus Molitor is now among the largest privately owned wine estates in the Mosel and also one of the best. With a focus on single-vineyard expressions, the estate produces between 80 and 90 different wines each vintage.