Scents of apple blossom, honeysuckle, and cassis in the nose of Kerpen's 2008 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese lead to a palate of utmost delicacy, the price for which - at present, anyway - is an abundance of superficial sweetness. Still, salt and stone notes add counterpoint and the wafting floral perfume that persists here perfectly fits the sweetness and light of the wine's personality. This should be worth following for 12-15 years, and I would personally wait 8-10 to enjoy it, but which time its sense of sweetness should be better-balanced. 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