By Gerardo Corleone –

Today I want to present you two great Beerenauslese from Germany. Both from the outstanding 2015 vintage.

First in short: What does Beerenauslese (also called BA) exactly mean?

Beerenauslese is a german Prädikatswein category above the Auslese. The french also translate it into Sélection de Grains Nobles, so it is a “selected late harvest of berries” affected with the noble rot Botrytis cinerea.

The first one I tried came from the Incredible Braunewell Brothers (Essenheim, Rheinhessen).

This 2015 BA from their important Riesling single vineyard Teufelspfad (Devils path) shows so many delicious fruity notes of dried mango, papaya, ripe peach and lemon curd combined with crushed stones and elderberries.

Super concentrated and smoooooth with lots of honey, dried fruit and a touch of smoke on the palate.There is an incredibly refreshing passion fruit flavour and acidity which balances the juicy residual sugar (252,4 g/l).

Never ending finish which shows sooooo much potential!

Mr. Braunewell says that it can be stored for at least 35 years – I say that not even 50 years should be a problem for this stunning Beerenauslese because of the great balance between sugar and acidity. The typcial Riesling acidity plays a big role here as it is pretty high with its 13 g/l!

Rating:

Bouquet: 3/3

Palate: 6/7

Finish: 2/3

Overall harmony: 6.5/7

Rating: 17.5/20 – Excellent wine with huge potential for storage!

Drink: now (if you cannot wait) – 2070

 

The 2nd BA comes from no other than famous winemaker Markus Schneider (Ellerstadt/Pfalz). Of course many people know him especially for his great red wines, but  in 2015 – for the first time ever! – he also decided to produce a Beerenauslese. And to anticipate it – he did a really good job especially regarding for the price of around 20 € (0,375l).

This one is not made from Riesling, but from the aromatic variety Gewürztraminer and opnens with lots of lychee, dried rose petals, honey, cooked quince, caramell and moreeeeee honey!

Really creamy and juicy and again with soooooo much lychee and of course honey! Incredibly silky mouthfeel with a mineral-mouthwatering acidity. Some hints of almond add to it and make even more complex

Tropical fruit like passion fruit, mango and pineapple form a pretty long, balanced and mouthcoating finish.

This one drinks already really good, but in the same time I would love to see how it ages – such a beauty!

Rating:

Bouquet: 2.5/3

Palate: 6/7

Finish: 2/3

Overall harmony: 6/7

Rating: 16.5/20 – Really good wine with potential for storage!

Drink: now (if you cannot wait) – 2030