Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Spätlese Riesling 2010

Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Spätlese Riesling 2010 (Mosel, Germany)
9%, Cork, $150
Source: Sample

Drinkability. Now there is a word that has been sabotaged in the world of wine, the concept derailed by copywriters (like me) who use the word to excuse away simple, characterless wines.

Yet the concept itself – the idea that a wine can be so appealing that you just want to empty the glass, and then the bottle – is the cornerstone of what makes certain wines great.

And great this wine (historically) is. Egon Müller, as grumpy as he may be (to me at least), has one of the greatest sites in all of Germany and knows how to make truly great wines. 2010 was a great vintage too.

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The only question then is – does this wine do it? Does it live up to its reputation and its pricetag. To which I respond… it’s got great drinkability. That’s the problem. It is so pure and pristine and genteel, yet it is ultimately to linear to be profound. Its too Germanic and too rigid to actually blow you away, those grapefruit flavours and soft acidity are nearly perfectly formed. Perhaps too much so.

Ultimately I drank a glass of this with relish. It was tasty. Yet according to the paragidm of what makes a wine great, it is not great. It’s too simple for that. It may well get there in time, but for the moment its just a lovely drink.

Is that enough?

Score: 18/20 93/100+
Would I buy it? For that price, definitely not. I’d like to have some in my cellar though. In other words, buy me some.