Powerful Restraint
2008 Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Spätlese AUCTION
Rare Auction Bottlings from the Ruthless 2008 Vintage
Can you say "Versteigerung?"
This is the German word for "auction" and if you're talking about German wines, the circular Auction sticker is a very, very good sign.
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These wines are not to be confused with their "regular" siblings - these are special barrels, the best of the year's production, held back and sold only at the September auction.
Today we present a small parcel of Hanno Zilliken's Auction Saarburger Rausch Spätlese AP#2 from the classic, cutting 2008 vintage. For purists, for those that love acidity and lift and focus and delineation, this is an incredible vintage.
Among the Riesling geeks, this vintage is almost always noted as a "personal favorite" - and count me among these Riesling geeks. The wines are so bouncy, so razor sharp, so transparent and mineral.
Hanno Zilliken made some great wines in 2008, as he does just about every year. We have not tasted this Auction wine - these bottlings are rare and I did not have the time to visit the estate last year. However, two factors suggest this is a wine worth the indulgence:
1) Hanno Zilliken is one of Germany's greatest winemakers. (Might as well state the obvious!)
2) Schildknecht's note, below, suggests a restraint. My experience has been that wines like this, that are dense and turned in on themselves in youth, most often unfold with staggering, staggering beauty. But this wine will require patience.
This is likely to be the lowest and the only pricing you ever see in the U.S. Quantities are limited so give us your maximum order and we'll do our best.
To order, please email us at offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Stephen Bitterolf
Wine Director
Crush Wine & Spirits
Special Email Bottle Price: $65.75
No U.S. pricing - world pricing begins at $80
Special Email 3-Pack Price: $180.00 ($60/btl)
David Schildknecht, Wine Advocate: "Destined for auction, the 2008 Saarburger Rausch Riesling Spatlese A.P. #2 smells of fresh lime, quince, and sea breeze, altogether cooler and more restrained than one would have expected given the personality of the corresponding non-auction A.P. #3. This was higher in must weight and harbors even more residual sugar than that #3, but the entire clockwork of the wine is clearly very different, and Zilliken says designed for evolution at a slow pace. “At the moment, it’s hard to recognize what’s really in this wine,” he remarked last September, and I have to concur. Certainly there is impressive density here, and as it warms up, its apricot, lemon, and ginger spice become more generous and the finish remarkably saline and savory as well as mysteriously animal, even though restrained in fruit intensity."
Wine arrives in the fall
NET | No further discount