The 2005 Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Kabinett smells vividly of ginger-tinged black cherry right down to the pit. It exhibits amazing richness on the palate yet also true Kabinett elegance, refreshment, and lightness of touch. Sappy, spicy, juicy, and multi-dimensionally mineral in a finish of tonic satisfaction (never, of course, losing sight of the cherries), this wine offers amazingly mouth-coating persistence and – despite harboring nearly 50 grams of residual sugar (high for this estate) – exhibits perfect balance. I'm betting that this exceptional value is a 20-year Kabinett that won't have a bad day along the way. “For me, 2005 is a singular vintage in my career,” says Johannes Selbach, “in that it is ripe, multi-faceted, and has excellent acidity. You can pick any of the other recent classics – 1975, 1990 ... . Each of the benchmark years is great in its way, however here you have a combination that is fun to drink now, ten years from now, and in thirty years as well. It remains to be seen, but I think 2005 is in another league.” Readers will indeed be hard pressed this year to find another address with this many consistently outstanding wines, and when has there ever been a more diverse and at the same time magnificent array of Auslesen? In their upper reaches, the Selbach 2005s seem – like Zilliken's, but in their own unique way – to chart a trajectory beyond the normal course for their vintage. The harvest here extended from mid-October to mid-November.Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300