[TN] '06 SUH Ock Bock Kab

There were a lot of weather problems in Germany in 1906 and the wines have been reported to be very variable as a result. Some picked very early because of the rain and rot problems. It sounds as if you have to consider the wines nearly estate by estate for 2006. Usually there is no problem with plenty of acid in the rather cold Saar region. Of course if one makes the wine with much residual sugar, this tends to mask the acid and any possible bitterness. I wonder if St. Urbans Hof made any halb-trocken in 2006. That might be more to your taste. However finding good examples of trocken and halb-trocken can be a problem in many parts of the US. My only Ockfener Bockstein has come from Dr. Fischer. The auslese often keeps very well and has enough acid for balance - some of the 1976 auslesen are still holding. In more recent years St. Urbans Hof has developed a high reputation.

Welcome to 2006! :) Given the levels of ripeness/residual sugar in the vintage, I've found that to be the case with 06s so far at the lower Pradikat levels. Martin Kerpen's Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett (which is a beauty and worth hunting for, btw) and Selbach Oster's basic 'Kabinett' are the only 06 Kabinetts I've had so far that actually felt like Kabinetts - most of the rest have felt like Spatlesen or Auslesen, either lacking the acidity to balance the sweetness or coming off as Spatlese/Auslese trockens that were fermented too long to leave too little residual sugar.

Salil