The Della Robbia of Auslese: Martin Muellen's Brilliant 2019 Krover Kirchlay

 Martin Müllen's Auslesen
- Another Level of Complexity and Sophistication 
- So Wonderfully Vinous 
- Yes, These Are Delicious, but they Should be Appreciated as Wine

2019 Martin Müllen Krover Kirchlay Auslese 
- 95 Points, Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate
- An Extra Dimension that Cannot be Explained 

- "intensely aromatic yet precise and fresh nose" (WA)
 - Stunning Clarity
- Super Clear and Herbal Nose
- Clean, Sweet Pink Celery, Citrus, Apricot
- Some Blood Orange and Honeydew
- So Sweet and Unctuous
- Perfect Linearity
- Serene and Zen-like
- Insane Structure and Minerality

- $34.99 CASE PRICING!

If you have been to Italy and visited a lot of cathderals, you have certainly seen a lot of terracotta. There are a lot of terrocotta cupids and baby Jesuses. And ... they're sweet. But the master of the form was Lucca della Robbia. And when you see one of his works, it stands out. Most of the terracottas are decorations. Della Robbia's works are art. He lived in the 1400s in Tuscany and created a series of techniques to make terracotta delicate, expressive and beautiful. He is considered among the ranks of Italy's great artists of the era along with Brunelleschi, Donatello and Ghiberti.

I mention him today because, let's face it, a lot of Auslese can be simply delicious but lacking in clarity, complexity, sophistication. Martin Muellen is simply a master at making Auslese. If you drink Auslese (or even if you don't), you need to try these wines.

Martin Müllen had an incredible 2019 vintage but the category that he truly excelled in was the category of Auslese. Martin moves to the beat of a different drummer and makes what nature gives him. 19 was an Auslese vintage in the Mosel according to Martin and after tasting his collection of 2019 Auslesen, I am 100% agreement. I tasted maybe 7 or 8 of them and they are all drop dead stunners. Some better than others but we are splitting hairs here. Deciding which ones to sell and which one to debut was as hard a decision as I’ve ever had to make at Fass Selections.

But before we get to todays wine I want to ask a question.

What makes a great Auslese? 

1. The tension between the acidity and the sweetness 

2. High acidity and intense minerality 

3. Structure to burn 

4. Exotic, vivid, detailed and present fruit flavors 

5. Finishes dry-ish but still is sweet 

6. Length is forever 

7. If there is botrytis it cannot be dirty or over the top 

That’s my list. It could be wrong but 20 years of tasting Auslese leads me to believe I’m likely correct. And number one is really the most important. 

Every single 19 Muellen Auslese nailed these 7 essential characteristics. So what was I going to sell to start?

The Wine

As I looked over my notes, one wine stood out and that’s the 2019 Martin Müllen Krover Kirchlay Auslese for $36.99 a bottle on a 4-pack and $34.99 on a 12 bottle case. This wine is bananas great. Just a stunning bottle of Auslese that not only checks all the boxes it has an extra dimension that cannot be explained that well. You just have to taste it. This wine is a stunning young bottle of Auslese and the price is a giveaway. 

Super clear and herbal nose. Loads of clean, sweet pink celery, citrus, apricot and loads of mineral depth. On day 2, What a nose. Unreal purity. Citrus oil. Blood orange. A nose that you can just sit with all night - you almost don't even have to drink the wine. Incredibly ever changing complexity.

On the palate, wow, so sweet and unctuous. Insane sweetness yet so fresh and so energetic. Perfect linearity. So honeyed. Sick cotton candy opulence. Icing on cake texture. Such insane sweetness. Fruit profile is like a sweet Laible Achat. Very melony fruit. Honeydew melon. So serene and zen-like. Clementines. Insane structure and minerality. Best clarity of the all the 19 Auslese so far. Elegant. Long and decadent. Finished dry-ish. On day 2, the palate is all gorgeous sweet blood orange and apricot. So fresh and energetic. Awesome texture. Concentrated and sappy. Lovely texture. Amazing purity. Length is forever. Drink from 2026-2050. 

Below is the 95 Point Stephan Reinhardt review. 

"The 2019 Kröver Kirchlay Riesling Auslese is very delicate and slatey/flinty on the intensely aromatic yet precise and fresh nose that picks up peaches and apricots. Based on entirely overripe but healthy grapes picked in a young vineyard trained with high cordons and minimal pruning, this is a delicate, salty-piquant and gracious Auslese with lingering salinity and a slatey grip. Highly stimulating. Tasted at the domain in September 2020." - 95 Points, Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate

2019 Martin Müllen Krover Kirchlay Auslese - $38.99

($147.96 4-Pack, $419.88 12 Bottle Case)