A December 18-harvested Pfeffingen 2009 Ungsteiner Nussriegel Riesling Eiswein offers Scheurebe-like intimations of candied mint in the nose, along with high-toned, spirituous, pit fruit and fruit pit intensity. There is a creamy texture and a soft lusciousness I would never expect from its genre – and no wonder, since with 7.4 grams of acidity this wine is relatively low even by “normal” Pfalz Riesling standards. It finishes persistently if gaudily of watermelon sorbet, mint candy, and caramel. (Eymaels bottled one tiny lot of Riesling Beerenauslese from the Ungsteiner Herrenberg, which I was unable to taste.)Jan Eymael elected to perform significant leaf-removal in order to permit his crop – especially the Scheurebe – to hang free, with the result, he explained, “that botrytis never really could establish itself” and the range of nobly sweet Scheurebe one generally looks forward to at this address is absent from 2009. Total acid levels are moderate this year, but the low pH levels in the grapes led Eymael to give his dry wines longer skin contact than usual to help buffer them. “Bear in mind that we’re one of the warmest spots in the Pfalz,” notes Eymael in connection with this year’s early, September 28, commencement of his Riesling harvest, though picking continued for nearly three weeks.Imported by Rudi Wiest, Cellars International, Carlsbad, CA; tel. 800 596 9463
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