It means that the best grape bunches are selected from the vine by hand for use in the winemaking process. Here are some other similar terms:

Beerenauslese: The best individual grapes are selected by hand

Spätlese: Late harvest

Trockenbeerenauslese: Individual berries are selected and dried to create a sweet dessert wine

It depends of course on the Producer and Pradikat of the wine. But, since 1971 was one of the best vintages in German history, I would imagine it can range from $75.00(for off-producers, and lesser vineyards), to well over $5000.00 for great vineyards, producers, and higher Pradikat level wines like Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese.

You mean the grape Riesling. Riesling has a big range from sweet to absolutely dry. Somebody says, Riesling is the king of whitewine.

Very famous are German Riesling sweet wines, harvested very late, up to January following year. The names are Auslese, Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese and Eiswein, that means special selected grapes up to icewine. High qualities of good years can be stored lifelong or longer. In "Bremer Ratskeller" Riesling are stored up to 1727 and this wine is drincable.

They vary widely.

If the bottle is domestic, it will have practically no sugar if it says dry. If it says "White Riesling" or "Johannisburg Riesling," it will have sugar, but there is no legal amount defined, so it could be anything. If it says "Late Harvest Riesling," it will have even more sugar, but once again, the amount isn't defined.

Now if it's German, there is a legal range of sugar. Trocken wines have less than 9g/L of sugar. Halbtrocken wines have 9-18g/L of sugar. Despite what people think, the "Pradikat" levels (Spatlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, etc.) aren't a measure of sugar, but rather a label defining how and when the grapes were picked.

If you were playing word associations with wine connoisseurs and said, "Germany," many were blurt out, "Riesling!" Many people believe that that varietal reaches its peak glory in the home of the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer.

German Rieslings vary in style -- some being very light in weight, some heavy, some being very sweet, some bone dry.

There are two very broad quality levels: QbA and QmP, with the latter being of generally higher quality. QmP wines are further subdivided into what is described as quality levels but really has to do with how much sugar the grapes contain before fermentation and, thus, how much alcohol and residual sugar the finished wine will have. The six levels, in increasing order of alcohol and/or sugar, are Kabinet, Spatlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Eiswein, and Trockenbeerenauslese.

(If you double-click any word in this answer, you will see further definitions and explanations.)

Fetzer, Hogue, and Chateau Ste. Michelle are three American producers that come immediately to mind who make Rieslings in the German style.