Selbach’s 2008 Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett halbtrocken demonstrates – as I would have expected – that it is a superb vintage (almost certainly the best yet) for this perennial outstanding value bottling, as well as one in which it tastes entirely dry. Effusively aromatic herbs, orange and apple blossoms, rowan, citrus zests, cardamom, green tea, and white peach all find their counterparts deployed on a dynamic, refreshing, texturally satiny palate. This finishes with vivid yet by no means excessively adamant stoniness, persistently wafting florality, deep nut oil richness, and invigorating zest. It will prove delightfully versatile and kaleidoscopically complex over the next decade. These vines are 30 years old now, and as Selbach puts it, both literally and figuratively “really displaying their depth.” There are thankfully nearly 1,000 cases.Johannes Selbach responded to the high energy and acidity of the 2008 vintage by giving most of the wines extra fine-lees contact and later-than-usual bottling. As a champion of (in his words) “genuine Kabinett” and “drinking wine, not trophy wine” and a resister against the encroachment of high must weights and residual sugar to which the weather in most recent vintages has left even him susceptible, Selbach was predictably overjoyed both with the refreshment, delicacy, and infectious drinkability made possible by vintage 2008, and with its preponderance of Kabinett and Spatlese. Several single-parcel, block-picked (i.e. the whole crop at once), vineyard-designated wines were essayed (that from the Anrecht – within Zeltinger Himmelreich – being new this year) although at Spatlese rather than, as usually in the past, Auslese Pradikat level. In fact, it remains Selbach’s intention to very soon remove the already small-print reference to Pradikat from these special bottlings, whose focus is intended to be entirely on reflecting terroir and vintage. (Ironically, though, the reference to the sites themselves remain in very small print, because the authorities are testy about the use of geographical designations other than those of the official Einzellagen singled-out – or, to put it more appropriately, assembled – in 1971.)There are a few regional importers of certain Selbach wines, but the majority (and those whose prices are noted above) are Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300