The wine was Serriger Vogelsang Riesling Auslese 1976, Verwaltung der
Staathlichen Weinbaudomanen, Trier, A.P. Nr. 356110700377. It was
bought shortly after release and has been stored properly. The fill
was high, and there were no cork or other issues.

Serrig is in a very cool region of the Saar and produces top wines
only in the exceptional very warm years, such as 1976. This is likely
near the area that gives the joke about 3 man wine in ordinary
vineyards in average to poor years. It takes one man to hold the
drinker down, another to pry the mouth open, and a third to pour the
wine in the mouth. The wine can be loaded with harsh acidity.

This wine was medium yellow, and had a very pure Riesling bouquet and
taste, something like a Scharzhofberger, but more delicate and less
intense and complex. It was fairly sweet, and the rather high, but now
smoothed, acidity likely made it seem less sweet than many other
Rieslings from warmer climates with the same residual sugar content.
The petrol character is fairly low. I am also reminded of wild flower
honey.

Serriger Vogelsang can be very good if you buy an auslese from a very
warm year, and the price usually is not as high as top wines from
warmer regions. Usually some, to considerable, age is necessary to
smooth the wine unless you like a rather acid and steel-like bite when
the wine is young or when it does not have much residual sugar. Making
a high quality trocken in this region would be a great challenge
indeed.