Yet another bottling from Kerpen's extensive acreage of largely young vines in that site, his 2008 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spatlese halbtrocken offers invigorating refreshment of apple tinged with bitter cyanic notes and a faint hint of sweetness, but without the clarity or primary juiciness that informs the best of its fellow Kerpen 2008s. That said, there is still ample refreshment here, and brown spices, citrus zest, and toasted nuts nicely help to extend the finish. I suspect this may be more interesting in a couple of years, but at the same time - barring re-evaluation at that time - I would plan on enjoying it within 5-7. In recent years, Martin Kerpen has increasingly proven himself a master of dry Riesling, and the acid structure and relatively moderate accumulation of grape sugar relative to phenolic ripeness that characterize 2008 played into his skilled hand in that genre, in which, additionally, he relied increasingly this year on ambient yeasts. (Of course, he is adept with residually sweet Riesling as well.) it's interesting to study Kerpen's detailed map of vineyard parcels, incidentally, and to see how after the controversial Flurbereinigung or general vineyard restructuring and replanting that is now under way in Wehlen, he will end up with around 8-9 parcels - some identical to his current acreage - or about half the number into which his total landholdings are morsellated at present.Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300