2021 Egon Muller Wiltinger Braune Kupp Riesling Auslese, Mosel

A slew of white peach, nectarine and tangerine aromas with just a hint of floral honey. Delicate herbal undertones. Wonderful lacy mouthfeel, the acidity only becoming forthright at the long structured and succulent finish. Drink or hold.

95 points jamessuckling.com Aug 2022

Egon Müller Wiltinger Braune Kupp Riesling Auslese is one of those wines that stops even seasoned Mosel lovers in their tracks. It comes from the legendary Braune Kupp vineyard in Wiltingen, a steep south facing slope of grey slate soils overlooking the Saar River. The Saar is cooler and more restrained than the Mosel proper, giving wines of incredible finesse, electric acidity and a crystalline purity that feels almost weightless.

The Müller family has tended vines here for more than two hundred years, and Egon Müller IV is widely regarded as one of the greatest Riesling producers in the world. His style is deeply traditional and quietly obsessive. Old vines, ruthless selection in the vineyard, spontaneous fermentations and an unhurried approach in the cellar. Nothing is polished or pushed. The wines are allowed to find their own harmony, which is why they feel so effortless and so timeless.

Auslese at Egon Müller is never about excess. The fruit is hand selected berry by berry, often with a whisper of noble rot, but always with precision as the goal. Aromatically this is pure class. Ripe peach, baked apple, citrus peel and honeycomb drift out of the glass, underpinned by wet slate and a gentle savoury note. On the palate the sweetness is beautifully judged, gliding across the tongue and lifted by piercing Saar acidity. It finishes long, cool and quietly powerful, leaving a salty mineral echo that begs another sip.

Braune Kupp is famed for delivering generosity without heaviness. Even at Auslese level the wine feels light on its feet, refined and incredibly detailed. It is superb with rich dishes like roast pork with apple, foie gras or blue cheese, and it also shines with spicy Asian cuisine where sweetness and acidity work in perfect balance.

Cellar potential is exceptional. These wines can age gracefully for decades, developing layers of spice, dried citrus, savoury depth and that haunting complexity that only the greatest Riesling achieves. Drinking one young is thrilling. Drinking one after twenty or thirty years feels like opening a piece of history.

Egon Müller Wiltinger Braune Kupp Riesling Auslese is a true benchmark wine. Subtle, profound and endlessly elegant, it captures exactly why the Saar sits among the most revered Riesling regions on earth.