Minerally? How about an entire grotto of stalagmites and stalactites. This is like looking into a glacier cave and taking in the crystalline air. Incredibly chalky precision and sleek minerality, all beneath a raging sea of sweetness and acidity, whose glimmering surface belies the depth and savagery of this wine. Drink now or hold.

The 2017 Graacher Himmelreich Auslese is coolish, bright and fresh on the still-reductive but attractive nose with its fine Riesling and slate aromas. The wine is salty-piquant and terribly fresh on the palate, with very fine Riesling and crispy-salty slate expressions. This Auslese is highly refined, crystalline and more intellectual compared to the Badstube, but hedonists would take it as well. A gorgeous, highly digestible Auslese. Tasted in March 2019. -SR

Spicy, smoky earth tones and shards of slate juxtapose decadent sweet grapefruit and yellow cherry in this complex auslese. It's light as a feather yet unctuously ripe and rich with a reverberating fringe of bitter chestnut skin. A bit tight now but it should reveal stunning layers of fruit and earth from now–2040.

An unctuous, concentrated auslese, fueled by a slight fizz and prominent acidity. Very vibrant, but also expressive and rich, gaining extra dimension from minerally accents to the honeyed apricot flavors. Tempting now, but this will only get better. Drink now through 2040. 120 cases made.–AZ