2005 Selbach-Oster, Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese

If you want to test the mettle of any wine geek you have the pleasure of knowing (and I may humbly submit that it is a pleasure), just ask them about the 2005 Vintage in the Mosel. You might see a small, knowing smile appear in one corner of their mouth, no doubt acompanied by a un-restrainable giggle usually reserved for five year olds who have been given the keys to Lego-land. And mention, "Zeltinger Sonnenuhr" and the giggle turns into a nervous laugh that tells you that they are having naughty wine-related thoughts and they are glad you can't peer into their soul. Or at least they hope you can't. You can't, can you? If so, don't ask me these questions. I said don't look at me!

Ahem....What was I saying? Ah yes, back to Selbach-Oster's Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Spätlese offering from 2005. If we were in Burgundy, this would be the Premier Grand Cru offering from one of the top vintages in the last twenty years. Mosel Rieslings are known for their depth of minerality and their brilliant acidity, and Johannes Selbach has melded them with an almost surreal alchemists brilliance. This is a wine that you want to find a flaw with. The reputation that preceeds it is so glowing that you want to find a chink in the armour. But you can't. If this wine were a Super Model, he or she would donate their earnings to charity, teach underprivileged children to read, adopt wayward puppies, and get out of bed in the morning looking like they just fell off a magazine cover all while being nominated for three Oscar categories, one of them being best original screenplay. You want to resent them, but they are just so pure and good, that you can't help yourself in lavishing praise on them, even if it makes you a little uncomfortable to do so with such conviction and vigor. Get over it. Self-hatred has no place in the Riesling world. We are hedonists! This pleasure should be scooped up with both hands and slathered over our naked torsos. TMI?

So you stick your nose in the glass and inhale its alluring aromas of lime, green apple, pear and crème brûlée. Then you let the nectar impregnate its flavors on your tongue and wonder, how can wine taste this good? You have completely forgotten about finding flaw, because you want another chance at rubbing elbows with the rich and famous. You are now officially wine papparazzi! I see a court ordered 100 foot buffer zone in your very near future. Something in your subconscious is screaming at you, "How can I get more of this?" You thank God that your local wine shop offers case discounts and that this isn't a NET item because this is a wine that you will want to check in on over the next twenty years. But I dare you to make it very far into 2009 with more than one bottle in your cellar. Go ahead, prove me wrong. I double dog dare you...