I know GATC loves his Rieslings young and vibrant, but more and more I find that I love the weight and complexity that seems to come with age, even if at the expense of that young burst of fruit. A dark rich golden color, the nose is intense with pleasant aromas of mineral, petrol, orange peel, and exotic spice. Sweet but not cloying, weighty and rich, with a long complex finish. 94 points.

Good info. I've noticed that for the best rieslings, the best time to drink them is when they come out of their dumb phase and the wine is well integrated and balanced. To be honest, I've never been able to keep my hands off of any of the ones I bought to age them long enough although some 71's did make the 15 year mark.

I cut-paste this response to Eric's similar thread on WS...there was a question as to who Beucher was, but never the less, good info for anyone interested.

Thanks for the TN Eric.

Graacher Himmelreich is a top-flight estate vineyard in the Middle Mosel region almost dead smack in the middle between the villages of Bernkastel and Zeltingen.

I found this said about the vineyard:
"It may seem presumptuous to name a vineyard „the Kingdom of Heaven“, but the folks of Graach on the Moselle have a good reason - the vineyard lies above the town cemetery! The wines from this great vineyard also lend credence to the name: they are lively, full-bodied, pleasantly acidic in good years, heavenly in great years. This is the first vineyard (221 acres) downriver from the great Bernkastel vineyards, at the beginning of the long string of vineyards stretching from Bernkastel to Zeltingen."

The vineyard is a narrow strip that runs parallel with the river at the very top of the slope.

Many producers make wine from that vineyard, some of which are:
JJ Prum, SA Prum, MF Richter, Selbach-Oster, Friedrich Wilhelm Gymnasium, Von Kesselstat, Dr. Loosen, Kees-Kieren, Markus Molitor, Willi Shaeffer, and Graff.

A search did not bring up any producers named Beucher, but it did bring up a man by the name of Reinhold Bernard-Beucher who lives in the village of Graach.
Weinbau u. WeinHdl. Reinhold Bernard-Beucher 54470 Graach an der Mosel
Weinbau means- viticultural, not sure what the abbreviation 'u. WeinHdl.' means.

A wine maker perhaps.

Good info. I was wondering who Beucher was. There are a lot of great vineyards along that stretch. I love how the Germans put the name of the vineyards on block letters right in the middle. It's like seeing small versions of the "Hollywood" sign. This really helps to identify these famous vineyards. The river twists and turns so much that it's hard to believe that these famous vineyards are all facing south. It also seems like the best vineyards have a 45 degree slope.

Weinbau = wine making/ wine maker
Weinhandler = wine dealer

Thanks for the note Eric, I just picked up my 3 '71s I won from Winebid today, one of which is the J.J. Prum Graacher Himmelreich Auslese, the other two are from the Rheingau, I am chompin at the bit to break one of these open...

I look forward to your notes on the 1971s auslesen that you won. Any chance of us seeing any of them soon?

Yep, thanks for reminding me.