2005 Riesling Graacher Himmelreich Auslese

This is certainly one of the finest overall collections of the 2005 vintage. The only criticism, if you could call it that, was what Dr. Manfred Prum said himself: "Everything we harvested this year was at least a fine spatlese. We declassified a bit to a kabinett without a vineyard site to satisfy demand; but that is not what the vintage is about. "Indeed, it is a year for the generous spatlese and luscious auslese wines that are found here in abundance. Given the perfection of those wines, I look forward to seeing the two or three beerenauslese and trockenbeerenauslese bottlings when they are released next year. The latter was still fermenting in late November. (Various importers, including Valckenberg International and Rudi Wiest) Also recommended: 2005 Riesling Kabinett (87).