*1998 Von Schubert Maximin Grünhauser Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett -
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer, Ruwer (11/23/2005)*

Very light, slightly grassy but bright yellow with the just the most
minute amount of visible spritz. Nose is slightly reductive and
requires about 20 minutes to clean up, initially yielding a good dose
of flint, moving into slate, smoke, and a tiny petrol hint as it begins
to oxegynate and open up. Fruit on the nose is primarily crisp but
round apple, with essence of sweet white field flowers growing
throughout the hour and a half that it is open. Palate is not spritzig
at all, but shows sweet apple and crisp pear fruit up front. Initially,
the mid-palate is light and a little weak, but fills out nicely over
the first 30 minutes or so. The flinty, smoky, slatey mineral is a nice
energizing streak from entry to finish. Initially, this seems a little
unbalanced toward the sweet side, but time seems to cure all. As the
mid-palate picks up weight, the acid perks up and this takes on a
refreshing, cool water aspect. Don't mistake me; it's not watery,
just refreshing like kabinetten should be. Not a blockbuster, but not
scrawny. Lithe and dancerlike so that you don't notice that there is
a bit of real sinew underneath the sweet freshness. Just entering its
drinking window, I think this will continue to blossom and would
benefit from a few more years of sleep. Again, not a showpiece but a
beautiful light romp down the slopes and into the meadow where a little
field grass joins the surprisingly long finish.

Jim