June 1, 2015 | News | Wines of the Month | Mature Riesling | Auctions
This perfect TBA is the crowning jewel of an absolutely stunning 2005 collection crafted by Geltz-Zilliken. Hanno and Dorothee Zilliken provide some background to this success.
Our “10 Years-After” Riesling retrospectives are probably the largest look-back at a Riesling vintage done anywhere in the world. For the 2005 vintage, we reviewed over 150 wines from all leading winemakers. In many cases, including Geltz-Zilliken, von Schubert, Joh. Jos. Prüm, Egon Müller, Reinhold Haart, Weiser-Künstler and Max Ferd-Richter, we re-sampled whole collections.
The 2005 Riesling retrospective tasting proved a home-run for Weingut Geltz-Zilliken. The Estate produced no less than seven Auslese bottlings as well as two BAs and two TBAs in 2005. We re-tasted nearly all the collection and all wines were absolutely stunning, living from racy acidity, gorgeously exotic flavors and incredible aromatic intensity. Rarely have we seen such packed excellence. It was a sheer pleasure to enjoy these wines.
When asking Hanno and Dorothee Zilliken what made their 2005 so successful, they put it down to terroir, vintage and a bit of good fortune: “The terroir of the Saarburger Rausch was ideal in this rather warm and dry vintage: The vineyard is cooler and underground water springs ensure some water to the vines. Luck was on our side as we decided to put compost into the vineyards in spring of 2005, which contributed to water retention. Fall saw a warm wind blow over our vineyards, which made the grapes shrivel on the vines and concentrate their flavors. Finally, the botrytis developed early. All this allowed us to make our high end selections at the beginning of the harvest.”
Hanno is clearly extremely proud of his 2005s. For those who know him, he is not prone to superlatives. Yet he immediately said: “2005? My best vintage so far!”
The 2005 TBA Auction is clearly the crowning jewel of the stunning 2005 Geltz-Zilliken collection. Although we tried to describe it here below, words essentially fail to capture the full dynamic and zesty picture of this little master-piece.
But this wine is more than that, it is also the crowning jewel of a winemaking career. A few year ago, Hanno Zilliken already mentioned to us that he would bring this 2005 TBA to the Auction when he would be “formally” handing over the Estate to his daughter Dorothee. This will happen as of mid of next year so that this 2005 TBA will come to this year’s Auction.
A review of the 2005 Geltz-Zilliken collection can be found in the 2005 Riesling retrospective published in Issue No 27 (March 2015). This Issue is available to subscribers on simple request. Not yet a subscriber? You can become one, free of charge, by simply registering yourself here below.
2005er
Geltz-Zilliken
Saarburger Rausch Riesling TBA (Auction)
01 06
100
This Auction TBA has yet to be released by the Estate but will make quite a stir when it will! This staggering golden-colored wine starts off with warm yeasty bakery scents. These give way to some pear, orange, pineapple, grapefruit, cinnamon jam and dried fruits. Searing acidity hits the richly sweet palate marked by an intense oily structure with plenty of honey, date and raisin and brings an incredible Eiswein-styled tension to the experience. The grandiose finish is endless and almost painfully intense. This stunner of an effort defies all benchmarks and, in its Eiswein-TBA style, a reference. Lovers of acid will not be able to lay their hands off this. This acidity makes it one to ideally enjoy over the coming decade, even if it will last for longer. But what a stunning off-the-chart effort! Now-2025+
NB: The 2005er Saarburger Rausch TBA Auction carries the AP 1 and should not be confused with the 2005er Saarburger Rausch TBA AP 2. The latter is a different wine which was sold via regular channels upon release. You will find more information on the difference between auction lots and regular lots in our annual Mosel Wine Auction Guide as well as in our article “Understanding AP Numbers”.
© Text by Mosel Fine Wines "The Independent Review of Mosel Riesling ... and beyond!"
Disclaimer: Mosel Fine Wines is an independent publication and has no commercial relationship with any Estate, association or organization featured in this article.
