Studert-Prüm 2003 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese ** 11 04 (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer) – 375 ml, cork soaked through, and a wine that may or may not be showing signs of that damage. I’ve had it intact before (cork-wise; I can’t speak for the wine), and it was good-but-only then. This seems pretty much the same. Maybe a slight whiff of caramel to start, but that blows off rather abruptly. What’s left is creamy, but it’s not the cream of riesling maturity, it’s the cream of sucrosity. This is a very sweet wine. (I initially wrote “powerfully” there, but there’s nothing powerful about this wine; it’s girthy without much force or pressure, and to its detriment. There’s peach, orange/vanillasicle, a very long finish, some brushes with the faintest ground iron. Maybe in time? A lot of time? Perhaps. I’m dubious, though. (8/11)

Studert-Prüm 2003 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese ** 11 04 (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer) – 375 ml. Makrut lime leaf and iron dust, extremely sweet, and not acidic enough. In a vacuum, that wouldn’t be so bad, but knowing what it is kinda detracts from the impression; in that absence, it tastes a lot like a vendange tardive Alsatian riesling from a middle-tier producer in a middling year. Knowing the vintage mitigates the disappointment a bit, but this is still not a wine one will want to have bought in quantity. The finish is shortish, as well. Still, there’s hardly anything wrong with it, it does speak (to an extent) of its place and its grape, and one could drink a lot worse. (4/09)