Representing his auction lot at this Pradikat level, Muller's 2008 Scharzhofberger Riesling Kabinett A.P. #7 is initially a bit shrouded by yeasty, fermentative aromas, but largely clears to reveal another aromatic exhibition of considerable mineral mystery as well as predictably citrus and pit fruit essences. This is practically explosive on the palate, showering it with vividly fresh white peach and yellow plum while virtually electrically charging it with white currant and citrus. Mineral complications are more sublimated on the nose and mid-palate here than in this year's other two Scharzhofberger Kabinetts, but there is an almost reverberative intensity to the finish that points in a mineral direction. I would expect this to be worth following for 12-15 years and to eventually reward the confidence that Muller and his cellar master showed in it by choosing it as the auction cuvee. Egon Muller finds merit in the comparison of 2008 with 1988 - or perhaps, as I suggested of his collection specifically, to 1969, a vintage with which, as he pointed out, the youthful 1988s were frequently compared. He notes that -half the 2008 harvest became Kabinett, and most of the rest Q.b.A.- but most of these Kabinetts would have been classified a grade higher in the, for its time, -classic Spatlese vintage- of 1988. That said, Muller and his team - who, unlike most of their Saar neighbors in search of a balance of dry and nobly sweet wines, do not spray against botrytis in summer - managed some superb selective harvesting this year, for which, he relates -the last week in October was the best time. At the end of October, it rained a bit again, and the botrytis was no longer so good. And that's why there is so little nobly sweet wine this year.- Apropos Kabinett, Muller takes a dim view of creeping residual sugar in wines so-labeled - confessing that he did not prove immune to that temptation - and is now bottling in the 30-35 gram range. He is always at pains to point out that he views and styles such wines in the manner traditionally associated with so-called Naturwein rather than in a manner especially associated with capital--K- Kabinett. Nonetheless, 2008 is one vintage where the Muller Kabinett bottlings exhibit precisely the delicacy that many of us consider the essence of that post-1971 category. For the most part, these 2008s - which, as a group, constitute a summit of their vintage - were bottled significantly later than the estate norm. (As always, Muller wines from his monopole Braune Kupp are bottled under the Le Gallais label.)Importer: Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY (212) 355 0700
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