The estate’s 2004 Monzinger Fruhlingsplatzchen Riesling Kabinett halbtrocken offers faintly bitter blue and red fruit, honey and lemon peel in the nose, leading into salty, bracing, juicily citric, tartly berry-flavored, subtly honeyed palate flavors that are delicate yet really stick to the gums. With a modicum of sweetness perfectly judged, this Riesling drives home its message of fresh fruit with raspberry and citrus finishing flavors tinged with salts and slate and underlain by honey and nut oils. There was not a lot of time or leeway, relates Werner Schonleber, between the onset of complete ripeness and that of negative rot, so once the harvest started in mid October, it was necessary to “give it some gas” and not waste a single dry day. For the most part, there was not sufficient late warmth or sun to steer the botrytis that was present in a noble direction. But the array of clean, rot-free, wines with mineral and fruit concentration this year is certainly formidable, thanks among other factors to the excellent ventilation of these steep sites, the Schonlebers’ careful canopy management, and of course considerable selectivity at harvest.Various importers including: Chapin Cellars – Billington Imports, Springfield, VA; tel. (703) 455-4700 and Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ tel 856-608-9644

This has a lovely expression of both Riesling and terroir. Ripe yet fresh, elegant yet rich, with an underpinning of mineral. This has harmony and intensity, ending with a long finish. Drink now through 2015.??–BS??Region: Germany / Nahe Select to Add

An interesting, characterful kabinett, with scents of smoke and scorched oil that mingle with lime and apple notes. On the palate, it delivers plenty of zippy citrus flavors, wrapped in a confounding veil of smoke and tar. Might prove better in time; give it 3–4 years of cellaring.——J.C.(10/1/2007)—— 85