Harvested on the second of the two days when this was possible, Selbach’s 2007 Bernkastler Badstube Riesling Eiswein mingles tart lemon and lime with candied cherry, white raisin, vanilla icing, and caramel. Here is another 2007 of great richness yet bright, penetrating, and invigorating as well. There is something of a tooth-rattling aspect to the intense finish here that makes me think “brrrrrrr ... .” Dive in if you dare over the coming couple of decades. Whether there will be more harmony thereafter – or even whether that is what one wants in this genre – are questions I leave to time and to readers’ personal tastes. No question about the formidable sheer concentration of raw material. Possibly I tasted this (or its little sibling) at an unruly stage in its development, since I don’t find the startling clarity or complexity that characterizes the best Selbach Eiswein bottlings. That said, these performed well by the general standard set by that genre in this vintage.
The Selbach crew did some pre-selection at the end of September, leading directly into a main harvest that lasted until November 10. Johannes Selbach says he often had to find things to keep his crew occupied while waiting for what he judged the optimum moments to pick. After having been through 2006, he was determined to have everything and everybody ready should circumstances suddenly dictate haste, which of course they never did. Selbach was delighted – as a self-proclaimed defender of “true Kabinett” – to have some genuinely light-weight yet intensely-flavored wines this year, and he was the first to acknowledge that not only the prevailing weather but also the abundant crop (even allowing for thinning) helped make ripe-tasting yet relatively low must-weight Riesling possible. He notes that there was relatively little botrytis, and then late. In view of that assessment, I was surprised at the extent to which this year’s Spatlesen evinced evidence of it. As for the dry and nearly-dry wines in this year’s collection, “it’s like a homecoming,” remarks Selbach, “to get back to wines with stuffing but that are sleek, anything but heavy, and inviting of the next sip.”
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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