A Diel 2009 Dorsheimer Goldloch Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese – due to be auctioned, and representing a selection of the most perfectly shriveled berries picked out along with the corresponding B.A. and gold capsule Auslese – is pungently prickly in its smoky and spicy expression of botrytis and bright citrus; reminds me a bit of Scheurebe in its Chartreuse-like sense of distilled floral and herbal essences and candied pink grapefruit rind; adds intriguingly musky and decadently lily-perfumed notes as it takes on air; and finishes with confectionary notes of salted caramel, vanilla cream, and marzipan in a soothing, creamy, buoyant, extremely sweet and persistently liqueur-like display that should still be worth taking-in 40 years from now. Caroline Diel’s 2009 collection is noteworthy not only for a range of outstanding Riesling such as has long been anticipated (though seldom bettered) at this estate, but also for a set of wines from the Pinot family – all, incidentally, now labeled with French rather than German names for their varieties – that in my estimation mark a significant up-tick in quality. That this estate has been famous in Germany for its work with Pinots ever since Armin Diel assumed charge in 1987 and began barrique vinification, I am of course well aware. But only in recent years have I witnessed tendencies to restrain the influence of new wood and to encourage real subtlety, which seem to me prerequisites for achieving with these varieties anything remotely approaching the class of Schlossgut Diel’s Rieslings. The 2009 Pinots were harvested in mid-October and most of the Rieslings in the two weeks following. The superb botrytis selections were all picked-out ahead of even the Pinots.Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300