Germany · sweet
Auslese
"Selected harvest" — individually selected very ripe bunches, often with some botrytis. Usually, though not always, sweet.
What is Auslese?
Auslese is made from individually selected bunches of very ripe grapes, frequently including some affected by botrytis, which adds honey and saffron character.
It is usually sweet, though dry Auslese exists and is a substantial, high-alcohol wine.
It occupies useful ground between an off-dry Spätlese and a full dessert wine: sweet enough for blue cheese and foie gras, fresh enough not to be overwhelming.
Grapes
What it tastes like
| Dimension | Typical | Range | Variation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweetness | medium-plus | Some variation | |
| Acidity | high | Some variation | |
| Alcohol | low-medium | Some variation | |
| Body | medium-plus | Some variation | |
| Fruit intensity | high | Some variation | |
| Aromatic intensity | high | Some variation | |
| Oak influence | low | Consistent | |
| Savoury character | low-medium | Consistent | |
| Floral character | low | Consistent | |
| Herbal / green character | low | Consistent | |
| Spice | medium | Some variation | |
| Earthy character | low | Consistent | |
| Perceived freshness | medium-plus | Some variation | |
| Texture | medium-plus | Some variation |
Common flavours
What makes it this way
The decisions and conditions that produce this style rather than another.
- Selective picking of the ripest bunches
- Frequent partial botrytis
- Higher must weight than Spätlese
- Usually sweet, but not by definition
How it is made
Method
Noble rot
A fungus that concentrates grapes and adds its own honeyed character — in exactly the right weather.
Method
Arrested fermentation
Stopping fermentation early to leave natural sugar in the wine.
Method
Stainless steel and inert vessels
Fermenting in a vessel that contributes nothing, to preserve fruit and freshness.
Why does it taste like that?
The grape, the growing season, the winemaking and the age — what each contributes, and what none of them determines.
If you like Auslese, try…
Each suggestion says why it is connected and what will be different.
Closest matches
What is most like this?
Beerenauslese
Both are made from riesling, and the structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, both come from the same country.
Expect it to be fuller and richer, and sweeter.
Trockenbeerenauslese
Both are made from riesling, and the structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, both come from the same country.
Expect it to be fuller and richer, and sweeter.
Eiswein
Both are made from riesling, and the structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, both come from the same country.
Expect it to be less spicy, and sweeter.
Similar but lighter
Something like this, but lighter?
Mosel Riesling
Both are made from riesling, and both come from the same country.
Expect it to be lighter, and more floral.
Eiswein
Both are made from riesling, and the structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, both come from the same country.
Expect it to be fuller and richer, and less spicy.
Trockenbeerenauslese
Both are made from riesling, and the structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, both come from the same country.
Expect it to be fuller and richer, and sweeter.
Similar but lower in alcohol
Something like this, but less alcoholic?
Eiswein
Both are made from riesling, and the structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, both come from the same country.
Expect it to be less spicy, and sweeter.
Trockenbeerenauslese
Both are made from riesling, and the structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, both come from the same country.
Expect it to be fuller and richer, and sweeter.
Beerenauslese
Both are made from riesling, and the structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, both come from the same country.
Expect it to be stronger and warmer, and fuller and richer.
Similar but fuller
Something like this, but richer?
Beerenauslese
Both are made from riesling, and the structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, both come from the same country.
Expect it to be sweeter.
Trockenbeerenauslese
Both are made from riesling, and the structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, both come from the same country.
Expect it to be sweeter, and spicier.
Canadian Icewine
Both are made from riesling, and the structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect it to be less spicy, and sweeter.
What to eat with it
Lemon tart
Riesling’s racy acidity keeps up with the citrus while the sweetness matches the sugar.
Apple desserts
Riesling’s orchard fruit and racy acidity against pastry and cinnamon.
Fillet steak
Works because the finished dish, not the raw ingredient, sets the target.
Salmon
Works because the dish is rich, and acidity cuts through fat and refreshes the palate.
Asparagus
Works because bitterness in the dish and tannin in the wine accumulate rather than balance.
Ceviche
Works because the dish is acidic, and a lower-acid wine would taste flat beside it.
How to serve it
Temperature
7–10°C
45–50°F · Fridge cold
From a 20°C room, roughly two to three hours in the fridge, or about 20 minutes in a bucket of ice and water.
Decanting
No need to decant
Nothing about this wine suggests it needs decanting. Light, aromatic and sparkling wines generally lose more than they gain.
Glass
Universal wine glass
A medium tulip-shaped glass handles almost everything well. If you own one set of glasses, this is the set to own — the difference between a good universal glass and a grape-specific one is far smaller than the difference between a good glass and a bad one.
Ageing
Ages for decades on its acidity.
Ageing potential
Can age a long time
A decade and often far longer · confidence: low
Built for it. The best examples change substantially and are often better at twenty years than at five. The worst examples of the same style are not, which is why the producer matters more here than anywhere.
Why
- Favours ageing. Acidity. Very high. Acidity is the single best predictor of longevity across every style — a low-pH wine is more stable both chemically and microbiologically. Some of the longest-lived wines made have nothing else going for them.
- Favours ageing. Sugar. High residual sugar, which is a preservative. Botrytised and fortified sweet wines are among the longest-lived made.
- Favours ageing. Concentration. Full-bodied and concentrated. This correlates with longevity rather than causing it, but a wine with more to lose takes longer to lose it.
What this cannot tell you
- Age is not improvement. A great many wines are made to be drunk within two years and get worse, not better, with time — and there is no shame in a style that is at its best young.
- WineHQ does not publish drinking windows. A window like "2032–2041" requires knowing the producer, the vintage and how the bottle was stored, and a style-level model knows none of those.
- Bottle variation at twenty years is large, especially under cork, where oxygen ingress differs between individual closures from the same batch.
Sources
Sources consulted