2008 Darting Risling Kabinett Dürkheimer Hochbenn, Pfalz

I apologize in advance for my haphazard writing style and for probably not writing my best or most complete blog entry. I run the risk of reducing what (if any) respect you might have had for my writing by posting this without having had much sleep because I can neglect the blog no longer and I feel inspired by this delicious wine. This is a Terry Theise Selection. Theise is a fantastic importer (technically, he works with Michale Skurnik Wines out of New York as the importer, but Theise selects the estates) of German, Austrian, and grower Champagne wines (more on grower Champagnes another time). This is one of the few importers whose wine I will buy without question based on my trust of their palate. The wine is distributed by SoPo and can be had for about $19 retail. I got it at Browne Trading and I am told that it's also available at Rosemont on the Hill. I've decided to start including where I get these wines because of comments from long ago. The wine's nose is a bit reticent, but has a slight sting of sulfur and shows wet stone and steely minerality with hints of yellow apple peel, orange, and flowers. It smells extremely fresh and clean (I'm not getting any aroma of sulfur, just a bit of a physical sensation, which usually comes across as stinging or burning. I want to point out here that for most of the population, sulfur is nothing to fear, and that these wonderful German wines often have a bit more than most to insure their stability because of their residual sugar.). The palate is much more expressive, with similar components, but with the fruit and floral elements being more obvious (still dominated by stony minerality, though). The orange comes across distinctly as mandarin, and some of the fruit and floral elements combine to give me an impression of peach blossom. There is residual sugar (just a little off dry), but the high acidity cleans out any sensation of sweetness by the finish. I suspect that with a decant or a couple more years in the bottle this would open up a bit more, mainly because of the noticeable sulfur presence, which tends to decrease with aeration or bottle age. This is what I want in a Kabinett: clean, slightly off dry, not tasting like Spatlese as far as the ripeness of the fruit characteristics, and enough acidity to make it super food friendly. very good, and there's not much more I expect or really want from a reasonably priced (under $20) wine in this category. 88 points. I want more. And at 9% alcohol by volume, this is perfect for a warm summer afternoon. Of course, the only downfall to that is you might not get to enjoy it as I'm sure it would really shine: with shellfish or other light seafood. Sorry for the sideways picture. I'm not good with computers and I can't figure out how to fix it now that I've completed the post.