2005 Riesling Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Kabinett

Johannes Selbach had not originally expected 2005 to be a great vintage. "Yes, good to very good," he told me, but it was only late in the season that he and many of his neighbors realized what was developing in their vineyards. As always, his idea was not to trump nature, but to distill the essence of the vintage. My scores may not seem overly impressive, but all of his wines have a bright, crisp mineral character and hedonistic quality that make them fun to drink. A globetrotter promoting German riesling, Selbach knows what wine lovers want in their glass after they have closed their guide books or stood up from a blind tasting. I should note that Selbach also has four more trockenbeerenausleses that he has yet to show. (Terry Theise) Also recommended: 2005 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese Trocken (87), 2005 Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett Halbtrocken (85), 2005 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese (89), 2005 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Auslese (89).