Muller-Catoir’s 2006 Haardter Herrenletten Riesling Spatlese evinces caramelized pear, persimmon, honey, and high-toned floral perfume. Palpably high in extract, this struggles to fold spice, smoke, tactile pungency, and bitterness of botrytis into a caramelized pit fruit compote, and largely succeeds. The question in my mind is whether botrytis will catch up with it. Revisit this in 3-5 years. Muller-Catoir’s vineyards were twice ravaged by hail, so a small harvest was guaranteed even before the roller-coaster of 2006 temperatures and precipitation was taken into account. Martin Franzen followed the long-standing tradition at this address of labor-intensive green harvest, selectivity, and unwillingness to compromise, in this case in the face of rapidly encroaching botrytis that – as he readily admits – rapdily turned ignoble. The upshot is a largely successful collection, much-reduced number, generally late-assembled but early (March)-bottled.Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel (516) 677-9300.