Rosa-Goldlack Riesling Beerenauslese – Pink-Gold Seal

Schloss Johannisberg is a historic estate in the Rheingau region of Germany. It has exclusively grown Riesling grapes since 1720, and is thought to be the first estate in the world to have done so. The estate has a history of winegrowing that spans approximately 1200 years. In 1775, Schloss Johannisberg became the first to deliberately cultivate Spätlese grapes. Schloss Johannisberg sits on one of three quartzite hills southeast of the Taunus mountain range. The soils here are quartzite rich, which is well-suited to the Riesling that occupies the vineyards. 

An effusive 2011 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Beerenauslese (nicknamed “Goldlack”) exudes crystallized ginger and candied lemon rind-studded mango, overripe peach and musk melon. Prickly volatile and pungently spicy notes from botrytis want for some integration; and sheer sweetness approaches the saccharine, almost certainly covering over what could otherwise be additional sources of complexity. These reservations aside, we have here a multifaceted wine, and furthermore one that finishes with admirable persistence and preserves more than a mere modicum of primary juiciness.