Weingut Moselschild, “Ürziger Würzgarten” Riesling Auslese

As I’ve said many times before, aged German Riesling is a wine experience everyone should have. It’s fundamental. The incomparable balance of fruit, earth, acidity, and, in this case, Auslese-level residual sweetness often sends me into sensory overload. And as you’ve likely seen in our recent offers, we’ve been delightedly working through a trove of back-vintage treasures, the latest being this 1997 “Ürziger Würzgarten” Auslese from Weingut Moselschild.I was introduced to this hotel and onetime winery during one of my recent trips to Europe, and while they are no longer producing wine, their dark cellars in the Mosel village of Ürzig were full of pristine, well-aged treasures like today’s. The Moselschild property sits at the base of the vineyard that gives this wine its name: Ürziger Würzgarten (“the spice garden of Ürzig). This is one of those impossibly steep, amphitheater-like vineyard panoramas the Mosel does so well, and its unique rust-hued soils make it easy to spot. The combi