Almond, white peach, Normandy cider, lime, and cherry in the nose of the von Hovel 2008 Oberemmeler Hutte Riesling Spatlese trocken lead to a juicy, bright, yet silken-textured palate, with Saar-typical saline and stony notes in a finish that betrays just a hint of extraneous, albeit invigorating tartness. I would plan to enjoy this over the next couple of years. 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