2018 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Schlossberg Riesling Auslese Schmitt

Pear nectar, quince jelly and honey mingle with marzipan and nougat on the effusive nose and rich, creamy palate of a bottling that, as always, originates with a single picking of all but manifestly imperfect bunches in the “Schmitt” block, yet on this occasion displays marginally less fresh fruit juiciness than the corresponding “Anrecht” and “Rotlay” bottlings or the “regular” Schlossberg Auslese that is in principle a product of selective picking. But none of this means that this year’s “Schmitt” is unimpressive – on the contrary! A more seamless, polished ennobled Riesling is hard to imagine. And like its two block-picked siblings, this “Schmitt” possesses striking inner-mouth floral perfume, headily evoking lily and gardenia, whose sheer persistence alone is quite sensational. In the end there is a modicum of juiciness, but even more effectively, an invigorating tingle of candied lime zest and crystallized ginger that contributes to the vibrancy of a simultaneously creamily rich and billowingly perfumed finish. This is far from the first instance in recent years when a Selbach-Oster Schlossberg has outshone its Sonnenuhr counterpart. (DS)