A 2004 Bopparder Hamm-Feuerlay Riesling Auslese A.P. #22 smells of vanilla-tinged fresh peach and apricot. The palate is creamy as well as subtly honeyed and faintly botrytised, yet elegant and delicate. Lime, vanilla and brown spices are accompanied by salt and crushed stone mineral notes, and the pit fruits in the finish remain juicy and fresh even with their overlay of honey, spice and vanilla. There was a botrytis- and frost-influenced “one star” Auslese from the Feuerlay (A.P. #4) that came off as faintly bitter and strident. And speaking of frost, an unconvincingly sharp, sweet-sour (although analytically not terribly high acid) Eiswein from the Schloss Furstenberg left me unconvinced. Florian Weingart brought no Riesling in from the Bopparder Hamm under 90 degrees oechsle – a record at this estate – but the range of phenolic ripeness was much more variable than that statistic would suggest. In years gone by, Adolf Weingart would have attempted to gently de-acidify a vintage with acids like this, but his son sticks by principle and with a single exception did not touch the 2004 acids. Instead, he tried to counter any tendency toward green, aggressive acidity with time on the lees and judicious application of residual sugar. But as he points out, it didn’t help that the 2004s as a rule stubbornly held on to their CO2 after a cold winter, a condition normally viewed as favorable. Introducing some wood into the cellar is an idea for the future.Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300