Likely a subtly sweet and creamy lime and strawberry chiffon, the Erbes 2008 Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Spatlese feinherb both saturates and floats on the palate, and the herbal notes noticed in the trocken rendition here morph into a delightful mintiness. Rich suggestions of nut oils and an undertone of wet stone add to the allure and soothing of a slightly-sweet Riesling that should keep nicely for at least 6-8 years. I have not tasted any older Erbes bottlings that were finished in feinherb style. Stefan Erbes has been attracting considerable positive attention even in the relatively residual sugar-adverse German press, so I thought it high time to meet and taste with him. A sizeable percentage of old, ungrafted vines and ambitious quality-consciousness on his part are combining for some very good, ultra-clean, largely tank-rendered, and modestly-priced Riesling, most of it – predictably – sold abroad, particularly in Japan. His 2008s struck me as surprisingly soft in their impression of acidity, which Erbes attributes in part to a combination of skin contact and high tartrate precipitation.Importers include Boston Wine Company, Somerville, MA; tel. (617) 628-5967 and Winebow, Montvale, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620