Picked this one up for $9 (375 ml) a few weeks ago here in NYC because I am a
such a sucker for the convenience of half bottles as much as I am for
discovering German Riesling. The first Riesling that I had ever had was in
fact a Kesselstatt Piesporter Goldropfchen Kabinett from '98, so I was also
searching to rekindle a little of that magic.
In Napa during crush (and probably many other parts for that matter) all of
the winemakers and cellar workers drank beer when they we bottling the wine, so
it was only fitting that I decided that it would be a good time to pull the
cork on one of these while bottling my batch of home-brew beer tonight.

On to the wine:
Light yellow, somewhat greenish blue in color, with a muted nose that shows
the early stages of a Riesling moving into that funky petrol phase and away
from green apple and citrus fruits.
I recently had a Selbach Oster Kabinett from '93 that showed a much more
pronounced petrol aroma than this one, so I cannot help but to think that it is
just ramping up to that point. Anyway, not much giving on the nose other than
that.
The body seems to start full because of that fat sort of "funk" feel on the
nose but soon dissipates into something a little less rich, with a good deal of
upfront acidity and a little mid palate of grapefruit pith, fennel seed and
caraway.
The short finish though leaves me craving for a little bit more minerality to
give this wine some spark and complexity; but enjoyable nonetheless.
Maybe this is closed down? Maybe Kabinetts should be drunk young? I'm not
sure, but either way I think that I will pass on any more of these for the
cellar in favor the '02 and '03 vintages albeit at a slightly higher price.