With Rieslaner – unlike Riesling – Franzen explains, it was possible to pick out individual nobly rotten berries or partial clusters, thanks to which there is a 2006 Gimmeldinger Schlossel Rieslaner Auslese of impressive if gaudy intensity. Lychee, caramelized peach, grilled pineapple, malt, and honey inform the nose and palate. Opulent, oily, and decadently rich, for all of its caramel and butterscotch suggestions, this retains exuberant, juicy pineapple and peach fruitiness. Hints of smoke and citrus rind help counteract the sense of surplus sweetness. The acid level is extremely high on all three nobly sweet 2006 Rieslaner at this address, and they will need but also reward time spent in bottle. Drink this Auslese between 10-20 years of age. Muller-Catoir’s vineyards were twice ravaged by hail, so a small harvest was guaranteed even before the roller-coaster of 2006 temperatures and precipitation was taken into account. Martin Franzen followed the long-standing tradition at this address of labor-intensive green harvest, selectivity, and unwillingness to compromise, in this case in the face of rapidly encroaching botrytis that – as he readily admits – rapdily turned ignoble. The upshot is a largely successful collection, much-reduced number, generally late-assembled but early (March)-bottled.Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel (516) 677-9300.