2008 Eitelsbacher Karthauserhofberg Spatlese

An auction cuvee, the 2008 Eitelsbacher Karthauserhofberg Riesling Spatlese A.P. #12 smells and tastes of quince, honeydew melon, mint, grapefruit, caraway, and white currant. While faintly sweet-sour like it’s A.P.#11 counterpart, this is so infectiously juicy, at the same time palpably extract-rich and buoyant, and so impressively penetrating as to present a convincing case for its having been separately bottled. In fact, I would not be surprised to see this thrive for two decades, outdistancing the other wines in its collection. This really tugs at your salivary glands and an impressive sense of nut oil richness emerges as it warms up and takes on air. Ludwig Breiling has retired as cellarmaster after 40 years at the Karthauserhof, and Christoph Tyrell’s new right-hand man – Christian Vogt, from Kinheim on the Middle Mosel, who worked for a time with Helmut Donnhoff – gets to show his meddle. The harvest was finished here on November 7, and Vogt explains that there was not a very wide range of must weights, with decisions as to eventual Pradikat being made more on the basis of flavor. The botrytis that was present in 2008 was constantly getting damp at night when not outright rained on, says Tyrell, and was therefore largely less than noble. At the same time, must weights and phenolic ripeness of healthy fruit did not reach the point where he felt justified in bottling dry Auslesen – his personal favorite category – either. Importer: Rudi Wiest, Cellars International, Carlsbad, CA 800 596 9463