The wine is Scharzhoferger Feine Auslese Nikolauswein 1970, Koch, (geerntet 5./6. Dezember). The wine was properly stored since shortly after release, the fill was very high, and the cork was sound.
The color is bright lemon. There is no oxidation and only a little, clean petrol character. As good Scharzhofberger usually is, it is a sort of ultra clean essence of Riesling. It has intense fruit and some floral character. There is some mixed citrus fruit along with some light stone fruit. The balance is near perfect, although the wine is quite sweet.
Although the best Scharzhofberger for a given ripeness grade often comes from Egon Muller, others may outstanding wine from time to time. This wine was labeled under the old German wine laws, which greatly changed for the 1971 vintage and after. Today, one could not mention feine(fine) on the label. Both Nikolauswein and the date gathered could not be mentioned. St. Nikolaus day comes in early December in Germany, and the children get their gifts then. The bottle has a picture of a German style St. Nikolaus on the label. Many of the grapes gathered early in the season in 1970 did not make exceptional wines. However, for a few who did not pick until at least December, some exceptional auslesen and eiswein was made.