2008 Eitelsbacher Karthauserhofberg Eiswein 40 auction

A 2008 Eitelsbacher Karthauserhofberg Riesling Eiswein Nr. 50 (its identifying number prominently displayed on the label, but just for the record, this is A.P. #14) harbors a mere 6.5% alcohol, and concomitantly sky-high residual sugar. Scents of radish and turnip along with gooseberry and yellow plum in spirituous and jam form send shivers down my spine, but the impression here is so viscous and sweet that the acids never have a chance to get out of hand or jar one’s teeth, as quince, yellow plum, and red currant jelly along with limeade dominate the proceedings, coating and saturating the palate. There is hugely impressive purity here, and a sense of latent tension and energy even if for now, at least, the wine wants for enormous complexity and its sweetness is awfully dominant. The brave might want to take a chance on this becoming more interesting as its sense of sweetness recedes, but as always with Eiswein, I would monitor the wine’s performance carefully, certainly at least once within the next decade. Otherwise, it would make an extremely impressive, if extravagant accompaniment to many desserts in its youthful form. Ludwig Breiling has retired as cellarmaster after 40 years at the Karthauserhof, and Christoph Tyrell’s new right-hand man – Christian Vogt, from Kinheim on the Middle Mosel, who worked for a time with Helmut Donnhoff – gets to show his meddle. The harvest was finished here on November 7, and Vogt explains that there was not a very wide range of must weights, with decisions as to eventual Pradikat being made more on the basis of flavor. The botrytis that was present in 2008 was constantly getting damp at night when not outright rained on, says Tyrell, and was therefore largely less than noble. At the same time, must weights and phenolic ripeness of healthy fruit did not reach the point where he felt justified in bottling dry Auslesen – his personal favorite category – either. Importer: Rudi Wiest, Cellars International, Carlsbad, CA 800 596 9463