2008 Weingut von Othegraven Kanzemer Altenberg Riesling Kabinett Erste Lage
I had a brief taste of this wine a little while back, enough to let me know that I wanted to get some. This is the first proper glass(es) of the wine that I have had. That small taste has been rewarded. I have previously compared some 2008s to the 1998 vintage, and this wine is squarely in that mold. It's not a soft, kill you with kindness Riesling, but rather a more austere, tart citrus dominated wine that speaks to its Saar origins. This is something that has been sorely lacking in the last several vintages, as everything has reached a soft, broad, almost Rheingau style. There's lots of extract here, and it's not showing nearly all it's got, but there is depth in reserve. I might even venture that this wine is already a little closed down. In any event it's a bracing wine that I would recommend to fans of old school German Riesling. I clearly do not own enough of it.