TN:Wow 2010 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Spatlese* Selbach-Oster

Rob_Hansult · January 17, 2012, 6:06pm

2010 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Spatlese (1 Star) Selbach-Oster

Very pale yellow with glint of green.

Nose > Big slatey/earthy/stony, key-lime & the most perfect, ripe yellow-peach.
Round, creamy, pungent, fresh, complex & classic.
Starfruit, lime-oil, Mango, red-cherry & cherry-stone.
Light touch of perfect creamy apricot/ripe peach-flesh botrytis. 100% clean. Beautiful & transparent - letting the fruit shine through. Love this complexity of just a touch of botrytis - not that I don’t Love clean botrytis, but too much can totally dominate a wines fruit.

Palate > Perfect yellow-peach, apricot, nectarine, red cherry & pungent key-lime & lime-flesh.
Quite sweet & very creamy/stony/slatey. Both sappy/pungent & rich/creamy fruit.
Amazing balance. Great acidity. Excellent intensity, depth, length & finish.
My idea of prototypical Gold Kap Spatlese - if, in fact such a thing exists.

Yes, definitely another 2010 WOW wine! Have I said how much I’m Loving them?

95 Points

Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m · January 17, 2012, 6:26pm

I’m pretty sure I have one or two of these in my cellar. Thanks for the note, Rob — it sounds wonderful!

David_Bu3ker · January 17, 2012, 7:20pm

Well that * on the label is how Selbach handles the gold cap concept…

Was this one screw cap or cork?

Rob_Hansult · January 17, 2012, 7:33pm

Cork, & yeah, I know.

Amazing quality & value on so many of these Selbach-Oster 2010’s.

Cris_Whetstone · January 18, 2012, 9:10pm

They told me this bottling is actually declassified Beerenauslese.

Rob_Hansult · January 18, 2012, 10:44pm

Chris,

Yeah, you’re right.

From the Skurnik website about this wine > > >

" Might as well go for it. This is the rich-bitch of the Späts, actually a very strong Auslese or meager BA – 120˚ – with almost a gelee of botrytis; yet it’s not massively sweet, just lavish and extravagant. "

Very cool site, BTW.

http://www.skurnikwines.com/wines.cgi?rm=view_detail&wine_id=17058

110 degrees Oechsle is the start of BA on the Mosel, & this was 120 degrees (a hair over 28% sugar or 16% potential alcohol to you & me).

Because of the high acidity, this doesn’t taste like a BA - one of the defining attributes of this insanely great vintage.

David_Bu3ker · January 18, 2012, 11:34pm

Not that unusual these days.

Alan_Rath · January 19, 2012, 4:49am

Cool, got some of this.

Rob_Hansult · January 20, 2012, 10:09pm

Agree David,

I think there will probably be more examples of this in 2010 than ever before.

But (mostly, anyway) the wines actually taste & drink like the residual sugars in the fruity wines have taken a step Back compared to many of the vintages of the last decade.

Terry Theise quotes some in his 2010 list here, especially regarding some of the excellent, INSANE value Merkelbach wines >>>

http://www.skurnikwines.com/prospects.cgi?rm=view_prospect_detail&prospect_id=300

The Kinheimer Rosenberg Auslese > 118˚ Oechsle - RS (Residual Sugar) 61g (~6.1%) - ABV 12%

Not sure of the acidity/pH, but this one drinks like Spatlese - Great, Bizarre, Monster 2010 Spatlese, but Spatlese nonetheless.

I would guess all Merkelbachs 2010 Auslesen, & a good chunk of their Spatlesen were at, or near 110˚ Oechsle (Mosel BA)

I don’t mind at all. For me it’s about the balance, & with extreme acidity, you NEED higher sugar for balance. Higher alcohol can help balance acidity too, but not nearly as well, & this is not (necessarily) the “traditional” balance of these wines.

Some other Merkelbach 2010’s >>>

Erdener Treppchen Auslese > 125˚ Oechsle - 92g RS - 11% ABV

Kinheimer Rosenberg Spatlese > 115˚ Oechsle - 71g RS - 11% ABV

Urz Wurz Kabinett > 96˚ Oechsle - 71g RS - 11.1g of acidity (!) - 8% ABV This (palate-wise) seems on the dry side for a Kab.

Ridin’ That Train, High on 2010!