Weingart is apparently starting to enjoy giving nicknames to his wines, and the prominent indication of residual sugar (or rather, its absence) on the label of his 2007 Schloss Furstenberg Riesling Kabinett trocken 0,8 could be taken as a warning or – in the case of German customers (no other wine drinkers in the world would think this way!) – as an inducement. Pumpkin and squash are the prominent “fruits” in this wine of considerable stuffing and (given its generous acids and bone dryness) surprising textural richness. It is from super-clean fruit – one reason for its rapid and total fermentation – and high-grade Spatlese must weight, but Weingart didn’t think it fit that Pradikat, and I agree, in that – for a dry wine – this still exhibits light-footedness. Saline and crushed stone mineral notes inform a handsomely lean finish. This offers striking proof that the wine always has the last word – standing there, naked and lovely, mocking my skepticism about “brut zero” Northern Rhine Riesling. It should certainly remain winsome for at least 2-3 years, although I permit by skepticism to remain in place apropos longer aging. I was unable to taste either of two Riesling Spatlese trocken bottlings – from Ohlenberg and Feuerlay – as Weingart’s top dry wines sell out instantly nowadays, and he unsentimentally delivers them down to the last drop. (The percentage by volume of trocken wines here this vintage – enlarged, by design – was 55%, but still not enough to meet local demand, while meanwhile any wine over 9 grams doesn’t quite languish, but certainly takes time to sell.) Florian Weingart’s reputation continues to mount, but he remains always the self-effacing and astute observer of wine, very much including his own. Given the amount of nobly sweet wine produced here in 2006 and the sometimes problematic quality of the botrytis that appeared this year, the estate essayed little in that genre this year, much of which moreover ended up as blending material.Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300