The Sankt Urbans-Hof 2008 Schodener Saarfeilser Marienberg Riesling Spatlese represents a second cask from this unusual, south-facing riverside site, one that simply stopped fermenting at 7.5% alcohol and so could not be incorporated into the usual feinherb bottling. The last time there was an unabashedly sweet Saarfeilser was in 2002, an Auslese Weis insists “was so sweet it was almost undrinkable in its youth, but which is perfectly balanced and has the clarity of mountain spring water today.” This wine though is already very easily drinkable! Fusil, oily, crushed stone, lemon and herb aromas lead to a palate lusciously brimming with ripe melon tinged with cooling herbs and efficacious citricity. Imagine a premier cru Chablis but with sweetness and you’ll come close to the effect of this intriguingly scrumptious Riesling that is sure to be worth following for two decades. Sankt Urbans-Hof, notes proprietor Nik Weis, experienced a good ten degrees Oechsle difference in 2008 between its ripest Saar fruit – bottled as Spatlese – and that of the Mosel, which reached Auslese level even without stringent selection of botrytis fruit. “We find this a terrific vintage,” remarks Weis – who compares its style with 1998 – “inasmuch as at long last we again have the clear differentiation between Kabinett as it should be, Spatlese, and ennobled Auslese.” Remarkably, there is only a single trocken bottling here this year (from Mehring) which I did not taste and which was destined for the Landhaus Sankt Urban restaurant of Weis’s sister and brother-in-law.Importer: H. B. Wine Merchants, New York, NY; tel. (917)-402-0456