Pear, red raspberry, and honeysuckle scent the Schonlebers’ 2008 Monzinger Riesling Kabinett, which practically levitates on the palate, juicy and delicate though to its finish, invigorated by fresh lime, pear skin, and a lick of salt. Anyone who loves the low-alcohol, subtly sweet, high-wire balancing act that has long characterized Mosel Riesling Kabinett (but been threatened by weather and fashion of late) ought not to miss the view of the Nahe you get from the vantage point of this particular tightrope walker and terrific value. And one can expect this wine to be delicious for at least 10-12 years. Werner and Frank Schonleber are another Nahe dream team whose amazing performance in 2007 has been equaled in 2008. “I wouldn’t call it a vintage with the emphasis on fruit,” says Werner Schonleber, “but rather on a pronounced, saline minerality. And there was no great selection of nobly sweet wine this year, because every three or four days it would rain at least a little bit.” He offers as “a very simple explanation” of this pronounced minerality the classic one adduced by growers (whether or not scientifically supportable) that the vines better “assimilate mineral stuff” when mild weather and plenty of moisture grease – as it were – the wheels of plant metabolism. And such vintages always boast measurably high levels of dry extract; the question remains, has that – as most growers believe – anything to do with their expression of flavors for which we feel compelled to employ mineral vocabulary?Importers: Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ; tel. (856) 608-9644; Dee Vine Wines, San Francisco, CA tel. (877) 389-9463