Paul Anheuser, Kreuznacher Krötenpfuhl, Riesling Auslese

We’ve thrown a lot of darts at the wine map this year and Germany has been the bullseye time and time again. I couldn’t be happier: Drinking fine Riesling is one of the greatest sybaritic pleasures imaginable. Drinking fine Riesling with age is an ethereal, almost indescribable, experience. And then you have rare instances like today’s heart-stopping nectar, where you must march back nearly 50 years to arrive at the origin of this Riesling Auslese from Kreuznacher Krötenpfuhl.This cellar-direct, SommSelect exclusive isn’t from any run-of-the-mill year, either: 1971 is simply legendary—one of those unicorn years that will always be widely regarded as one of Germany’s greatest-ever vintages. And if stored to perfection, like today’s wine, it shines with superlative tension, opulence, and integrated sugar that seamlessly blends into the background. As mentioned in past offers, touring Anheuser’s cellars and uncorking perfectly stored wines from their subterranean collection will be an eve