This estate’s 2005 Ockfener Bockstein Riesling Spatlese offers a Moscato-like nose of apricot, flowers, and herbs. Pear and grapefruit enter in on the palate, which delivers abundant ripe fruit flavor while remaining delicate to the touch, a combination probably attributable in part to the desiccation of berries in the high, windy parcel of the Bockstein where this was picked, and where sugar accumulates in the grapes relatively slowly. Floral and herbal notes persist in the generously-fruited, decidedly sweet but positively gulp-able finish. The team here – cellarmaster Rudi Hoffmann, vineyard manager Hermann Jostock, and proprietor Nik Weis – continued their streak of highly successful harvests this year, albeit at the price of extremely low yields.Importer: H. B. Wine Merchants, New York, NY; tel. (917) 402-0456

A solid effort, but one that lacks the brilliant focus of some of Nik Weis’s other offerings this year. This is broad and mouthfilling, oozing with honey, apple and petrol aromas and flavors that seem to lack a little focus, then pick up a bitter citrus pith note on the finish. Imported by HB Wine Merchants. ——J.C.(4/1/2007)—— 87