The 2017 Riesling Saarburger Rausch Auslese ** (Golden Capsule) is intense and concentrated on the fresh and piquant nose that indicates fine botrytis with lemon confit and pumpernickel notes. Lush and smooth as well as refined and piquant on the palate, this is an incredibly fruity and mouth-filling Auslese with great finesse and a lightweight but intense and aromatic body. The finish is intense but delicate, full of layers and finesse. A gorgeous Auslese from the Rausch in Saarburg. Tasted in April 2019. -SR

Prickly pungency of candied lime peel, quince jelly, white raisin and distillates of pear and mirabelle point to the beginnings of botrytis, although Molitor insists that none of his “two-star” Auslesen were significantly affected by noble rot. The lush, satiny palate takes on a concentrated dried-fruit aspect in its evocations of quince, pear, mirabelle and white raisin. Hints of fruit pit piquancy add welcome counterpoint, while lime and grapefruit inject welcome juiciness on a lasting, multilayered, albeit neither florally nor minerally inflected finish. -- David Schildknecht