2007 Von Hövel Scharzhofberger Riesling Spätlese

The von Hovel 2007 Scharzhofbeger Riesling Spatlese smells not just of peach, but of banana and nut oils. Plush and soothing though buoyant and refreshing on the palate, it emphasizes lightly-poached peach, nut paste, and vanilla, and finishes with striking subtlety of stony, saline, and somehow crystalline mineral characteristics. Reversing the roles of the relationship between the corresponding Kabinetts, this Scharzhofberger comes off as drier than its counterpart from the Hutte. Ebernard von Kunow himself, along with many journalists, was harder his 2006 collection than was I. Still, the 2007s are more consistent; will certainly be longer-lived; and at the top end represent some of his most exhilarating and riveting wines ever. They were also picked within a relative narrow range of must weights (even allowing for considerable botrytis). -It was really just a matter of taste,- says von Kunow, -deciding what would become Kabinett, what Spatlese, and what Auslese. I did lengthy sorting in an attempt to bottle Beerenauslese, but in the end I concluded -it just isn't there.-- Importer: Rudi Wiest, Cellars International, Carlsbad, CA 800 596 9463.