Picked on December 30, their 2008 Bacharacher Kloster Furstental Riesling Eiswein is the latest in a long-running streak of this genre that – along with their often superb Sekt – is what Weingut Ratzenberger is best-known for inside Germany. There have been some notoriously enamel-effacing youthful exemplars, so I have to admit that when my nose was hit by a blast of prickling lemon rind, wood smoke, black pepper, and horseradish, I was almost wishing I could dip my big toe and not my tongue into the glass of this. But my anxiety proved groundless – well, ask my dentist about that, I suppose, but – at least aesthetically. Luscious if bright lemon and pineapple abound, although the combination of incisive citricity with huge sweetness is not for now resolved, and the finish is as sweet-sour as it is penetrating; suggests both persistent smokiness and an almost a metallic sheen; and packs as much black and white pepper as ever did any Syrah or Malbec. “This really displayed elegance and finesse before it was bottled,” insists the younger Ratzenberger, “and I think it’s a bit cranky right now.” I can perceive the potential for grace in a certain lift, and undeniable – indeed, undying – energy. As so often with this genre, it will be a gamble to cellar it, but if served young it will be a gamble to arrive at the good dessert pairing it seems to deserve.When you taste a collection like this year’s from the two Jochen Ratzenbergers, you have to wonder why their wines’ consistent quality; track record for aging; and frequently stellar performances do not make this one of the most talked-about estates in Germany. (Maybe I shouldn’t wish that on us!) In fact, they are quite well-respected at home, but I think there is a certain snobbishness that rebounds against even the best Mittelrhein Riesling because this region’s precious half-timbered villages and crenellated slopes spell “tourist country” to most German wine lovers.Importer: Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ; tel. (856) 608-9644
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