1998 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Eiswein*

Should this rate three asterisks? I peg certain wines as "better-than-which-cannot-be-imagined." But this wine educates and expands my imagination. Just taking the superficial impression, this is the closest wine has ever come to great, aged kirsch distillate. In the nose: cherry stone, smoke, spice, minerals-esters and flavor essences probably only a chemist could pin down. Creamy and ultrarich in the mouth. Singed pitted fruit, spice, buttery pastry and cream in a melange that could put every great Konditorei in Vienna out of business. Unimaginable intensity of flavors yet ravishingly drinkable and without exaggeration. "My '98 Eisweins have more than Eiswein character," says Johannes Selbach. "They have spice, they have middle palate, and they're not just sweet and searing in the finish." Thank you, Mr. Selbach, for putting that so prosaically and setting me back down on earth.