Continuing to explore the various vintages of the mid/late '90s to determine if anything is even remotely ready to drink.

Certainly this has emerged from hiding (in 2002 it was in deep slumber), with lime, vanilla cream, leafy and spice aromas accompanied by the slightest haze of petrol. It's still vibrant on the palate, but there's a touch of creaminess on the palate that gives a sense that this is not a recent release. But in fact the creaminess is about the only thing that betrays the wine's age. In general it has not developed much secondary character yet, but continues to taste of a cool spring day captured under glass. The sweetness that was once very evident has backed off slightly, and with the still bright acidity this is perhaps even more refreshing than it was on first release. The finish is long, built upon a broad mineral backbone, and just biting enough to remind me that kabinett was once something more like kabinett and not some declassified auslese monster.

This I could drink non-stop. And I nearly did until Laura asked me to leave some for her. :^)

I don't find quite as much secondary development here as I really like in kabinett, so I am inclined to hold my other bottles for a couple more years, but there's no crime drinking this right now.