2004 Riesling Kaspar R. is the designation for the Ratzenbergers’ generic sweet Riesling, which in this instance comes from the St. Jost vineyard, and should represent an excellent value. Lovely sweet lime and pink grapefruit aromas lead to a juicy, refreshing, vibrant palate and a luscious, lip-smackingly long finish of pink grapefruit, honey, nut oils, and exotic spices. High acidity and strong wet stone mineral tones check an improbably high 60 grams of sugar, and the result is a highly delicious dynamic that will probably accompany this wine for at least 10 or 12 years, for the rare consumer who, like me, socks away Q.b.A. Curiously, a Spatlese and Auslese tasted alongside lacked precisely this youthful balancing act of high sugar and acid or focus. The Jochen Ratzenbergers – father and son – seldom fear letting the acidity of their Rieslings hang out, and they also craft wines that often need a couple of year’s bottle age to blossom, so my verdict on their 2004s may well require upgrading. Acid levels in the grapes stayed high, but Jochen Ratzenberger Jr. reports that the estate has never experienced such unprovoked precipitation of tartrates as this year, which significantly diminished the finished acids.Importer: Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ tel 856-608-9644