Part of another long line of excellence, Schonleber’s 2006 Grauburgunder trocken is where to go for toasted nut richness, along with smoked meats. Here, too, creaminess of texture goes hand in hand with elegance, refreshing juiciness, and distinctively mineral notes that will be recognizable to devotees of Nahe Riesling. “The grapes were totally healthy,” says Schonleber, reflecting the circumstances that often prevailed with Pinot Noir in the Rhine basin as well, namely that in opposition to a normal state of affairs, these Burgundy grapes resisted rot and over-ripeness better than Riesling. This, too, will prove exceptionally versatile and need not be consumed any sooner than over the next 5-7 years. “The Nahe had the capability to render really good dry wines this year,” asserts Werner Schonleber. “Elsewhere, the botrytis was problematic, or the ripening took place too quickly. But we caught the whole spectrum here.” He proceeded to prove this memorably in the glass, with the finest collection I have ever tasted at this address (as well as – improbably – one in which Fruhlingsplatzchen outperformed Halenberg).Imported by Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ; tel. (856) 608-9644; also imported by Dee Vine Wines, San Francisco, CA; tel. (877) 389-9463