Weingut Pfeffingen Ungsteiner Herrenberg Scheurebe Trockenbeerenauslese, Pfalz, Germany

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A tiny amount of Riesling T.B.A. was still fermenting last autumn, but the Eymaels’ November 18-harvested 2008 Ungsteiner Herrenberg Scheurebe Trockenbeerenauslese is already wine – and what a wine! The buttery texture of the corresponding B.A. (picked the same day) is here accentuated, and strong honeyed and caramelized streaks adding to the sage oil and mint concentrate, marmalade, and pit fruit preserves also familiar from this wine’s twin. Subtle yeastiness, vanilla, and nut paste accentuates the confectionary, butter-cream aspects of this elixir, while a sense of near weightlessness belies its textural richness and sheer viscosity. It should be worth following for at least 30 years. We intended to harvest only a Scheurebe B.A., relates Jan Eymael, but the blades of the pruning sheers stuck together when one of our crew tried to cut these grapes, which is how he is always able to tell when we are going to be able to make T.B.A.It threatened to become another 2006, said Jan Eymael of the mid-September, 2008 rain, but even in the warmest parts of the Pfalz the weather stayed relatively cool, and he did not pick the first Rieslings until September 30, then continuing off and on for three weeks. The later it got, the better the grapes became, comments Eymael. Another month on the vine allowed for the November 18 picking of two magnificent nobly sweet Scheureben.Importer: Rudi Wiest, Cellars International, Carlsbad, CA; tel. (800) 596-9463

Picked into seperarte buckets at the same time as the Beeerenauslese, the 2006 Ungsteiner Herrenberg Scheurebe Trockenbeerenauslese combines the buttery richness of that Beerenauslee with the clarity of the Auslese. Cassis and herb candies with pink grapefruit and banana fill the nose and palate; grapefruit and banana harmoniously fold into vanilla cream and caramel; and creamy buttery richness by no means precludes a luscious, refreshingly juicy cast thanks to high, ripe acidity. Indulge yourself in some of this anytime over the next quarter century.Pfeffingen suffered 40% losses vis a vis normal, even though most of their crop had already been picked when the worst rains arrived on October 3rd. Scheurebe was so resistant to the effects of rain, Jan Eymael reports, that they did not even begin picking it until all of the Riesling was finished, and at that point the fruit was still healthy. But not for long: a week later, says Eymael, Beerenauslese could be picked straight from the vine! To compensate for the high acidity in fruit harvested this early, Eymael gave many of his wines significant skin contact in the press, and he was also happy to the extent that the young wines dropped tartrates. But above all, the high extract inherent in this well-watered vintage serves to buffer acidity. The tart, brisk personality of some of this year’s wines thus comes as something of a shock relative to the vintage norm, but not considering the early harvest at this address.Imported by Rudi Wiest, Cellars International, Carlsbad, CA 800 596 9463.