The von Hovel 2008 Scharzhofberger Riesling Kabinett smells mouth-wateringly and fascinatingly of ripe peach, musk melon, heliotrope, and saffron. Subtle wet stone and alkaline notes add interest and help buffer out a remarkably high yet in no way excessive-tasting 50 grams of residual sugar. This delicate wine offers a kind of excellent value scarcely imaginable outside of the world of German Riesling, inasmuch as it originates in one of that country’s half dozen most renowned vineyards (albeit in the post-1971 extension of that site). I would feel free to follow it for at least half a dozen years. The inherent delicacy of 2008 and its efficacious acidity that in principle permits the promotion of residual sugar and low finished alcohol, would seem to have been right up Eberhard von Kunow’s alley. That said, he professed satisfaction with a vintage in which he finished picking by the end of October and bottled no wine above Spatlese, “because,” as he put it, “we have been so spoiled by recent years, why try to stretch just to produce another Auslese?” Furthermore, Von Kunow performed de-acidified both in must and young wines, insisting that even so, the pH levels in 2008 remained relatively low and the percentage of tartaric acid high, so that the wines would remain very stable in bottle and possessed of liveliness and cut.Importer: Rudi Wiest, Cellars International, Carlsbad, CA 800 596 9463