Paul Anheuser Kreuznacher Kahlenberg Riesling Auslese Trocken Dry 1997

The Anheuser family has been growing grapes in Bad Kreuznach since 1627. Today, brothers Rudolf and Paul represent the 14th generation, working these incredibly steep slopes by hand.

Here’s what makes this bottle extraordinary: After aging for nearly 28 years in the Anheuser’s historic cellars, the family reconditioned and re-corked this wine at the winery.It has never left their custody, offering cellar-direct provenance at its most pristine.

The 1997 was a one-shot deal. The Anheusers never made another dry Auslese from Kahlenbergan Erste Lage (First Growth) vineyard facing due south above Bad Kreuznach. The site’s slate and quartzite soils produce Rieslings of piercing minerality. Even Dnnhoff, the Nahe’s most celebrated producer, doesn’t make a Kahlenberg Auslese.