2005 Markus Molitor Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese**
In 1984, then 20-year-old Markus Molitor assumed responsibility for his family's extensive vineyards in the Mosel valley.  Although the Molitors had made wine for 8 generations, they had done so without much distinction.  With precise work in vineyard and cellar, careful attention to the terroir of each vineyard, and an uncompromising biodynamic approach, Markus has spent the last 20 years raising the Molitor wines to the highest levels of German winemaking.  The vines for this Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Auslese are well over 100 years old and on steep slopes which need to be tended and harvested by hand.  Everything is done to transmit the flavor of the blue slate soils in the vineyard to the wines, including using only yeasts that occur naturally on the skins of the grapes.  The result is a rich, fragrant wine, with lively acidity, a silky texture, and great complexity.  While it shone at the Collector's Club tasting, this world-class Riesling will continue to develop for another 20-25 years.  It costs $49.75 and, although it scored incredibly well in the wine press, we have an extra case available.