Merkelbach Urzinger Wurzgarten Riesling Auslese

Riesling is a light-skinned, aromatic grape of German origin which is – if the majority of top wine critics are to be believed – the world's finest white-wine grape variety. For many, the claim above may seem at odds with the sea of chaptalized, low-quality wine exported from Germany in the late 20th Century. In truth, very little of that infamous wine was Riesling at all (Riesling became a scapegoat for higher-yielding grapes such as Muller-Thurgau and Silvaner), but the reputation has nonetheless stuck. No less unshakeable a stereotype is of Riesling as just a sweet grape, used only to make sticky wines.