Representing Schonleber’s idea of the next step up in dry Riesling from his basic generic and – as its name suggests – a closer reflection of his top sites, the 2007 Riesling Mineral smells something like Saar-meets-Chablis in its suggestion of lemon and sea breeze with oily crushed stone. Citrus and red fruit refresh while nut oils and wet stone add depth. The finish here manages to both sooth and invigorating. So, if your pocketbook doesn’t permit you to purchase Emrich-Schonleber’s vineyard-designated dry Rieslings, don’t feel too bad, and why not be one of the first to actually sock away some bottles of this outstanding value (which incorporates fruit from both Fruhlingsplatzchen and Halenberg) for 5-7 years and demonstrate its true potential? To say that Werner and son Frank Schonleber have been on a roll lately must count as an understatement (and that applies to 2008, too). Two heads are better than one, no doubt, plus the advantages of accumulated wisdom and acreage – the family is filling-in what was once a decidedly, in places depressingly patchy landscape by buying up prime parcels from retiring vintners – are obvious. The Schonlebers went over their vineyards in early October to pull out some botrytis that had already accumulated and to thin their crop, and began seriously harvesting Riesling after the 10th. The estate’s vines were largely spared savage but capricious hail that rained down on parts of the Fruhlingsplatzchen. Werner Schonleber draws a stylistic comparison with the 2002 vintage, which he convincingly demonstrated with several bottles.Imported by Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ; tel. (856) 608 9644; also imported by Dee Vine Wines, San Francisco, CA tel. (877) 389- 9463