Reinhold Haart, Piesporter Goldtröpfchen, Riesling Spätlese Goldkapsel, 2006

Piesport is a lovely village in the German Mosel Valley. Because of the peculiarities of the German wine law, the name can show up on the labels of very cheap wines from somewhere in the area (Piesporter Michelsberg), or it can be on first class Riesling from some of the Mosel's best vineyards. After having recently indulged myself in the delights of the supermarket wine version, it is now time to revisit the outstanding Goldtröpfchen vineyard version.

"Goldtröpfchen" means little drop of gold, and the Rieslings made by Theo Haart and family in Piesport can indeed be described as such. Today's Haart Riesling even comes with a gold capsule ("Goldkapsel"), indicating that the Haarts were particularly pleased with the quality of what went into this bottle.

A while ago I had foolishly come up with the idea of writing a little less about the Haart wines, having done quite a few reviews, but what I found in this bottle was so stunning it should not go unreported.

First of all the wine just smelled fantastic. There were elements of indulgent richness (caramelised stone fruit for instance), the first faint signs of age (rubber notes and paraffin wax), fresh apple and herb aromas and a deliciously salty dosage of mineral. Light, but with character and well integrated. Letting the wine run down my tongue and throat revealed layer after layer of delight. The Riesling started out rich, then became more juicy with hints of hot spice, then the bitterness of caramelised fruit came up and it all ended in an almost dry minerality that was salty in a savoury way, despite a caramel sweetness. The acidity was very well integrated and kept everything together.

An utter joy to drink.