The Schonborn 2011 Hattenheimer Pfaffenberg Riesling Spatlese Pfaffenberger is redolent of – and succulently informed on an opulent creamy palate by – overripe peach, Persian melon and pear. If that description sounds familiar from my account of the corresponding Marcobrunn, the two are in fact relatively little differentiated, as well as dominated by their sweetness. Here, the confectionary aspect extends to notes of nougat, pushing things in the direction of outright gaudiness, at least in the nose and mouth of this taster. Happily, though, there are salivary gland-milking salinity; a rivulet of bright juiciness; and supportive residual CO2 to enhance the undeniably seductive appeal of a long-lingering and strikingly buoyant finish, taking this succulent and generous, if also unabashedly sweet, Riesling far beyond the aforementioned Marcobrunn in complexity, charm and ultimately also, I suspect, aging potential. I would anticipate it impressing through at least 2030. In recent reports, I have ascribed the significant positive developments at Schloss Schonborn to Peter Barth, who was named “winery director of the year 2009” by the Gault Millau, wine guide within Germany. However, Baarth was dismissed by Count Paul Schonborn in autumn of 2012 after the State of Hessen brought charges against him for violations of German Wine Law based on analyses that allegedly demonstrated he had illegally concentrated musts; blended wines in ways incompatible with their labeled geographical attributions; and added distilled spirit to T.B.A.s (presumably to push them past the 5% alcohol requisite for wine). The charges involved 20 wines (Seven of them Pinots) and around 20,000 bottles, mostly from vintage 2011, all of which the winery – acting decisively, if ultimately with little choice – destroyed or has sought to buy back from trade or private owners so that they can be destroyed. As of early 2014, the case has yet to come to trial. Steffen Roll, who replaced Barth soon after the latter’s dismissal, will be responsible for a newly-assembled viticulture team as well as for wine-making, and there is little doubt among those who have observed their vineyards first hand that the level of care these received under outside management – along with their sheer vastness – was a weak point of the Schonborn estate, whether or not consequences of that weakness played any role in a temptation to transgress wine law in the cellar (which I tend to doubt). As it happens, I got an especially distressing glimpse of the estate’s rot-endangered flagship Hattenheimer Pfaffenberg and other nearby vineyards during the warm, rainy third week of September, 2011, but Barth had not yet ordered any significant picking and expressed confidence that if the rain soon stopped, he would still be able to select both healthy and botrytized bunches capable of excellence, which is exactly what happened. “Many people failed to learn the relevant lessons from 2003,” he insisted, and for that reason ended up with overly-alcoholic and acid-deficient 2011s. Among other procedures, musts were immediately pressed; rapidly and radically chilled; then rigorously settled. This is one of several Rhine estates whose lighter dry 2011s I found more expressive and better-balanced than their Grosse Gewachse. My tasting notes on this occasion reflect no experiences subsequent to Barth’s indictment for wine fraud, but I have placed a parenthetic asterisk (*) after the names of any wines I reviewed that were evidenced in those charges, and added a parenthetic note on the infraction in question. As usual given the huge extent of this estate – and even allowing for its many distinguished vineyards whose fruit informs only generic bottlings – I did not taste more than two-thirds of its vintage offerings. Importer: Rudi Wiest, Cellars International, Carlsbad, CA; tel. (800) 596 9463. Until recently, though, various importers, including Dee Vine Wines, San Francisco, CA; tel. (877) 389- 946

The Schonborn 2009 Hattenheimer Pfaffenberg Riesling Spatlese Pfaffenberger – that last (nick-) name prominent on the antique label – registers 10.4% alcohol even with 84 grams of residual sugar left behind. But its sweetness manages to support its flavors of ripe pear, pink grapefruit, Persian melon, honey, and marzipan. Fruit pit piquancy, citrus rind, chew of fruit skin, as well as subtle salinity all lend stimulation to an impressively persistent finish, and here is another instance where high residual CO2 helps engender lift and balance the sweetness. This should keep well for at least two decades. There was merely a light blush of botrytis on this fruit, indicates director Peter Barth. The latest collection from Peter Barth and his team further demonstrates the high standards that now prevail at this venerable estate. “The window for optimal harvest seems to keep narrowing,” Barth notes, and the relatively high finished alcohol levels on this years dry Schonborn Rieslings certainly testifies to that fact, leaving the 2008s at this address with a distinct edge over their 2009 counterparts. Despite the ravages of hail in Hattenheim and Erbach – including the loss of nearly one-third of the estates anticipated crop of Marcobrunn – the number of different bottlings from that site and from the monopole Pfaffenberg is still considerable. Various importers, including Dee Vine Wines San Francisco, CA; tel. (877) 389- 9463, Slocum & Sons, North Haven, CT; tel. 203-239-8000, Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY; tel. (212) 355-0700, Winesellers Ltd. Niles, IL; tel. (847) 647-1100

Resulting from selective passes on their oldest vines, the Schonborn 2008 Hattenheimer Pfaffenberg Riesling Spatlese Pfaffenberger bears that one word -Pfaffenberger- prominently on its copy of an antique label, so even though it is the only Spatlese from that site this vintage, I still thought this name - signifying the wine's status as the richest-possible Spatlese from the site - should be noted. Effusive aromas of bergamot and pink grapefruit remind me of Scheurebe, and the opulent, lush palate is as generous and extroverted as the nose led one to anticipate. Banana and peach emerge as this opens to the air, becoming almost gaudy, and there is a lot of sheer sweetness that one could charitably characterize as baby fat. Still this is pretty striking stuff even now, and should keep well for 12-15 years, with the sense of sweetness eventually toning down. An April, 2009 visit to this estate - my first in many years - convinced me of Peter Barth's seriousness and talent, and revealed many wines worthy of the great potential of the vast von Schonborn acreage. Last September, I was thrilled by an even finer collection. The number of separate and vineyard-specific bottlings here (as explained - along with other recent developments at this estate - in issue 185) is nowadays intentionally limited. Additionally, in 2008 Barth adopted a very conservative approach, essaying few nobly sweet wines, and while finding his best fruit from top parcels worthy of Erstes Gewachs bottlings, he did not render parallel Spatlese trocken bottlings from the same sites as in other recent years. -Our late start picking this year, with the first Riesling on October 17,- Barth points out, -would have been considered entirely normal 15 years ago. But honestly, by the time we started, I think more than half of the Rheingau had already been picked, a lot of that wines with green, unripe notes and resulting in wines that were then de-acidified.- Various importers, including Dee Vine Wines San Francisco, CA; tel. (877) 389- 9463, Slocum & Sons, North Haven, CT; tel. (203) 239-8000, Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY; tel. (212) 355-0700