2012 Alfred Merkelbach Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Kabinett #18 - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (12/29/2020)
Opened to do a direct comparison with the 2008 version I opened yesterday, and there is certainly a kinship, though the 2012 is larger scaled. It's still not all the way to "modern kabinett" (aka spatlese except in name), but it's somewhat richer in that it does not seem like a doll house miniature. It's clearly Wurzgarten with the strawberry and spice tones, but also has bracing, crisp tree fruit tones. Once again something that feels like kabinett is supposed to be, rather than something that was labeled as kabinett because it had to be in order to fit a mercantile function.