Von Kunow’s 2008 Scharzhofberger Riesling feinherb – his first such non-Pradikat single-vineyard bottling that I can recall – delivers site-typical ripe peach and vanilla with inklings of tropical fruit, all projected against a stony sounding board. Suggestions of candied lemon rind, tamarind, and licorice add bittersweet interest, and the residual sugar is judged to insure ample versatility at table over the next 3-5 years, provided you’re open-minded. The inherent delicacy of 2008 and its efficacious acidity that in principle permits the promotion of residual sugar and low finished alcohol, would seem to have been right up Eberhard von Kunow’s alley. That said, he professed satisfaction with a vintage in which he finished picking by the end of October and bottled no wine above Spatlese, “because,” as he put it, “we have been so spoiled by recent years, why try to stretch just to produce another Auslese?” Furthermore, Von Kunow performed de-acidified both in must and young wines, insisting that even so, the pH levels in 2008 remained relatively low and the percentage of tartaric acid high, so that the wines would remain very stable in bottle and possessed of liveliness and cut.Importer: Rudi Wiest, Cellars International, Carlsbad, CA 800 596 9463