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 Kahlenberg—an Erste Lage (First Growth) vineyard facing due south above Bad Kreuznach. The site's slate and quartzite soils produce Rieslings of piercing minerality. Even Dönnhoff, the Nahe's most celebrated producer, doesn't make a Kahlenberg Auslese.

Fun fact: Long ago, one Anheuser brother went to St. Louis and started brewing beer. Did pretty well for himself. This branch of the family stayed in Germany, cultivating vineyards that include two monopoles: Pfingstweide in Niederhausen and In den Felsen ("in the rocks") in Schlossböckelheim. Their ancestor Rudolf Anheuser was the first in the Nahe to plant vineyards exclusively to Riesling at the end of the 19th century.

WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT

• INCREDIBLE Provenance: After 28 years in the Anheusers’ cellar, it was reconditioned and re-corked by the family. This kind of pristine aging provenance is nearly impossible to find even in a Michelin-starred restaurant.
  

• A One-Off: The Anheusers made this dry Auslese exactly once, when the great 1997 vintage conditions allowed it. It has fascinating aromas of stone fruit and earthy minerals, petrol, but overall a penetrating, almost painful intensity you’ve just got to experience for yourself.
  

• The Price is Bonkers: From a better known name in a region like the Mosel, aged German Auslese from a proud, meticulous producer like this can run into the hundreds of dollars, making this price defy belief.

HOW TO SERVE IT

• 48-55°F in white wine stems. Serve it too cold, and you could miss the fascinating nuances in this wine.
  

• Pairing ideas: Transcendental with roasted pork loin with apricot mostarda, aged Comté, or lobster with drawn butter. Also brilliant on its own, or with simple plates of fruit at the end of a meal as a wine of meditation and conversation.