2018 Mussbach Riesling Kabinett

This minor masterpiece projects a limeade personality in its combination of prominent sweetness with citric tang. Very ripe pear underscores the nature of the vintage, while a sage and mint infusion serves for pungent and cooling stimulation. A glossy feel enhances the wine’s sense of richness, while the infectiously juicy, bell-clear finish benefits from a saliva-liberating lick of salt. Here’s an instance where although ripeness of flavor, textural richness and sheer sweetness would have led to this wine – which represents the second harvest pass on the vines in question – being classified as Spätlese or even Auslese had it been rendered in the late 20th century, its sense of airy openness and lift arguably justify the Prädikat Kabinett. I’m confident it will be an outstanding keeper.