The 2007 Riesling Kabinett halbtrocken returns to the bright tangerine and grapefruit; transparency to salty, stony nuances; and verve that characterize most of the best Weingart wines of this vintage, and that is especially noticeable in Rieslings of Schloss Furstenberg and Engelstein, the two vineyards from which this was principally sourced. The Engelstein contribution includes fruit from single-pole-trained selection massale vines with which Weingart recently restored a steep and abandoned portion of that vineyard. Open, airy, and buoyant, this lives-up to its “Kabinett” name, but at the same time possesses an impressive sense of sheer extract as well as textural richness conveyed by its fine lees on which the wine rested until just prior to its April bottling. Nut oils, herbs, citrus, and myriad mineral suggestions inform a prolonged finish. This is remarkably refined and subtle for a generic bottling, and sure to prove versatile over at least the next 6-8 years. 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