The 2006 Westhofener Kirchspiel Riesling Grosses Gewachs leads with musky floral notes, high-toned almond, and piquant peach kernel; displays toasty nuttiness along with generously juicy citrus and peach fruit (and persistent floral perfume) on an opulent, texturally-refined palate; and finishes with persistent muskiness and rich fruit, seemingly just hinting at sweetness (even though there are under eight grams of sugar) but with offsetting and haunting piquancy. Amusingly, given its name, this puts one in mind of Forster Kirchenstuck in its exotic decadence. Klaus-Peter Keller says his grapes weren’t soft yet when the August rain hit, and he harvested late by local standards – from 6th-26th of October – by which time the nights were cool, which in his opinion preserved the aromas, warded-off botrytis, and allowed him to achieve normal crop levels, expressive ripeness and dry wines in the 11.9-13% alcohol range. Imported by Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ; tel. (856) 608-9644; also imported by Dee Vine Wines, San Francisco, CA; tel. (877) 389-9463