Mission Codename Molitor cocktail #4
BOOM.
According to Urban Dictionary, a Molitor cocktail is a hand-drunk white wine consumed in a frangible vessel filled with a delicious substance equipped with a cork. In use, once the cork is pulled and the liquid inside makes contact with your tongue, it ignites a fury of sensory delights that course through the entire body.
Okay, that’s not exactly accurate. Or is it? Because there’s NOTHING like a fine Riesling to invigorate the senses and overwhelm the mind with delight.
Cause it’s RIESLING FRIDAY!
With none other than MMM… Master Markus Molitor.
Each of his wines is a tremendous bargain really, albeit in minuscule quantities imported. From the dry to the luscious, from 95 to 99 pointers there’s something for everyone!
We’re in the Mosel, aka Riesling heaven. The styles range from the dry to the luscious, common denominators being searing acidities to balance and resulting scrumptiousness.
Oh, and each and every one is as RARE as they get, micro productions that need to be seized like this fleeting moment, as when they are gone, they will be GONE for good.
Molitor. How big is he? There are 55 Rieslings with 100 perfect points on Wine Advocate ever, and 21 of them are by Molitor. Next are 7 by Fritz Haag and 6 by Dönnhoff. THAT’S how big Molitor is.
This too is shockingly close to being almost a dry wine despite the Auslese ripeness when picked. On the palate it’s ethereal, as in cloudlike, definitively balanced, the RS is an afterthought, with spices, gingerbread taking front stage. There is a lot going on, with green papaya, it even reminds us of a ripe Pinot Gris with exotic tropical fruits on the midpalate. The finish is super focused with piercing vitality, almost electrically charged.
SO. MUCH. ZING.
One burning question remains… can you carpe the diem fast enough on these gems?
96 Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“The 2020 Riesling Bernkasteler Badstube Auslese * (Green Capsule) is clear, deep and intense on the concentrated, mineral and lemon-scented nose that shows bright and fresh fruit and very fine broken slate aromas. Full-bodied, very intense and lush, with sweet fruit, this is an enormously salty, complex, very long, energetic and tensioned Badstube with a hint of caramel on the finessed and crystalline finish that also reveals laser-sharp but ripe acidity. The finish is very intense and concentrated but savory and stimulating. This Riesling is like a bright laser beam! But it is also very intense and concentrated. A promising wine that is made to be cellared for a minimum of 10 to 15 years. Drink 2032-2070.”
What the Winery Says
2020 Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Auslese* Grünkapsel
- Winemaker
- Markus Molitor
- Varietal
- 100% Riesling
- Vintage
- 2020
- Alcohol
- 10.5%
- Back Label RS Scale
- 55%
- Appellation
- Mosel, Germany
- Vineyard
- Bernkasteler Badstube
- Village
- Bernkastel
- Soil
- Red slate & fine particulate matter
- Aging
- 12 months on fine lees
- Vessels
- 100% large oak barrels