Surprisingly tropical scented in its suggestions of mango and pineapple allied to lily-like, perfumed sweetness, vanilla, and almond extract, Kerpen's 2008 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett is correspondingly lush for its vintage and Pradikat, yet at the same time displays uncanny lift and consummate refreshment. This outstanding value finishes with impeccably-balanced sweetness and the slate-typical kiss of wet stone, promising at least a dozen years of delight. In recent years, Martin Kerpen has increasingly proven himself a master of dry Riesling, and the acid structure and relatively moderate accumulation of grape sugar relative to phenolic ripeness that characterize 2008 played into his skilled hand in that genre, in which, additionally, he relied increasingly this year on ambient yeasts. (Of course, he is adept with residually sweet Riesling as well.) it's interesting to study Kerpen's detailed map of vineyard parcels, incidentally, and to see how after the controversial Flurbereinigung or general vineyard restructuring and replanting that is now under way in Wehlen, he will end up with around 8-9 parcels - some identical to his current acreage - or about half the number into which his total landholdings are morsellated at present.Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300