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
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