Harvested – like most of its ilk – on December 30, the Selbach-Oster 2008 Zeltinger Himmelreich Eiswein smells enticingly yet sharply of lime meringue and radish; combines confectionary sweetness as well as chiffon-like delicacy of quince jelly glazed lime meringue on the palate; and preserves invigorating tension, refreshment, and infectiously lip-smacking cling in the finish. Hints of smoke and lemon zest add invigoration in a finish that points toward thick, healthy grape skins concentrate by frost and extracted by slow, light pressing. This should be interesting to follow from bottle and has the sort of purity that might see it through a couple of decades of bottle evolution, perhaps even longer.
Johannes Selbach responded to the high energy and acidity of the 2008 vintage by giving most of the wines extra fine-lees contact and later-than-usual bottling. As a champion of (in his words) “genuine Kabinett” and “drinking wine, not trophy wine” and a resister against the encroachment of high must weights and residual sugar to which the weather in most recent vintages has left even him susceptible, Selbach was predictably overjoyed both with the refreshment, delicacy, and infectious drinkability made possible by vintage 2008, and with its preponderance of Kabinett and Spatlese. Several single-parcel, block-picked (i.e. the whole crop at once), vineyard-designated wines were essayed (that from the Anrecht – within Zeltinger Himmelreich – being new this year) although at Spatlese rather than, as usually in the past, Auslese Pradikat level. In fact, it remains Selbach’s intention to very soon remove the already small-print reference to Pradikat from these special bottlings, whose focus is intended to be entirely on reflecting terroir and vintage. (Ironically, though, the reference to the sites themselves remain in very small print, because the authorities are testy about the use of geographical designations other than those of the official Einzellagen singled-out – or, to put it more appropriately, assembled – in 1971.)
There are a few regional importers of certain Selbach wines, but the majority (and those whose prices are noted above) are Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300
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