2008 Schloss Lieser Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese

It’s hard to believe given the quality of his A.P. #8, but Thomas Haag rendered a second 7% alcohol Sonnenuhr Spatlese, and that 2008 Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese A.P. #13 – harvested a bit later and more selectively from a single parcel – was destined for auction. Pear drops and nectarine preserves, liquefied gardenia, crystallized ginger, and candied lemon scent the nose and saturate the palate. This is more substantial and even richer as well as more energetic than the A.P. #8, though without that wine’s uncanny lightness and creaminess. Almost miraculously, 100 grams of residual sugar do not come off as overly sweet, and the enormous finish here manages to be positively refreshing, not to mention supremely elegant. Here, too, I predict 25 years of felicitous bottle evolution, and it would be a fascinating treat to be able to track it together with the A.P. #8 over the decades. “A danger in so many recent vintages”, says Thomas Haag, “was that growers told themselves ‘I need a Kabinett; I have to have Kabinett; I must pick sooner!’” whereas this year, Kabinett was assured, even assuming you waited long enough to do justice to vintage potential. Haag is one of numerous growers who subscribe to the notion that (in his words) “the mix of weather in 2008 was ideal, guaranteeing permanently adequate humidity of the soil, so that mineral matter was released and could be taken up into the vines, as you can plainly taste.” And given his penchant for finesse, clarity, and delicacy, as well as for high residual sugar that demands efficacious acids to balance, it’s not surprising Thomas Haag has a high opinion of 2008. Indeed, his collection is among the vintage’s best. Haag essayed some selective picking for Beerenauslese, but like many growers decided that what he had collected was better declassified, especially in view of how spoiled we have been by botrytis in recent years and how tough are the present economic circumstances. Due to time constraints and the unusually extensive range of nobly sweet wines here, Haag and I did not take time to taste his two trocken offerings, whose absence from the U.S. market made it subsequently impossible for me to corral. Importer: Rudi Wiest, Cellars International, Carlsbad, CA; tel. 800 596 9463