Scharzhofberger Riesling Auslese Nr18
⏳ Drinking Window
2025 - 2055
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Classic foie gras, artisanal blue cheeses such as Roquefort, and elegant fruit tarts like tarte Tatin.
✨ Technical Specifications
The estate of Egon Müller is synonymous with the absolute pinnacle of German winemaking, and the Scharzhofberg hill in the Saar valley is its crown jewel. Cultivated since monastic times under the Abbey of St. Pauli, this legendary south-facing slope of weathered grey slate produces Riesling of unmatched tension and longevity. The Auslese 'Nr' bottlings, often destined for the prestigious VDP auctions, represent a meticulous hand-selection of botrytis-affected grapes. Fermented with indigenous yeasts in traditional wooden Fuder casks, this wine is a masterclass in balance, where luscious, honeyed sweetness is perfectly countered by a piercing, electric acidity and intense slate minerality.
🍾 About the Producer
Weingut Egon Müller-Scharzhof, established in 1797 following the secularization of monastic holdings along the Saar, stands as a paragon of classical German viticulture. Situated in Wiltingen within the cooler Mosel tributary corridor, the estate centers upon the world-renowned Scharzhofberg and Le Gallais' monopole parcel in Wiltinger Braune Kupp. These south-facing, steep amphitheaters feature weathered Devonian grey and red slate interspersed with quartzite and iron-rich veins. Viticulture follows traditional, sustainable principles emphasizing rigorous plow cultivation, absence of chemical fertilizers or herbicides, low yields, and preservation of centenarian ungrafted vines. Winemaker Egon Müller IV champions a purist, non-interventionist cellar ethos where wild yeasts, traditional neutral oak fuders, and unmanipulated fermentation dictate pace. Famed for benchmark Spätlese, Auslese, and celestial botrytized Prädikat bottlings—including world-record Trockenbeerenauslesen—the wines exude filigreed tension, soaring mineral salinity, ethereal residual sweetness, and virtually limitless longevity.