2015 Alfred Merkelbach Kinheimer Rosenberg Riesling Kabinett

Scents and a juicy abundance of flavors of pear and lime are tinged with nutmeg and perfectly supported by judicious sweetness. At 9.5 percent, this is high-alcohol by contemporary Mosel Kabinett standards, but it issued from grapes at 90 Oechsle (almost unthinkable for the Merkelbachs at its Prädikat level) and was stopped so as to retain only 37 grams of residual sugar. Forget must weight and alcohol: the results deliver all the levity you could want. A cooling, soothing and refreshing finish is underlain by wet stone and picks up invigorating nips of cress and lime zest piquancy as well as saliva-liberating salinity. It’s impossible to resist the next sip.