The misunderstood 2008 German vintage (almost without fail an obsession of wine geeks and terroir fanatics) has very likely given us some of the last of a dying breed: TRUE Kabinett.*

The TRUE Kabinett is NOT about power, or depth, or accolades and hype. These are wines that charm you, wines whose human, intimate proportions are meant for enjoyment, for drinking, for refreshment.

For those not up to speed with their fuder conversions, this is roughly one thousand liters of wine, about 1,300 bottles - just over 100 cases.

It's been absolutely incredible to watch, to experience.

At this point, it's hard to keep these wines in stock for any duration - we are, in fact, already fielding regular inquiries for the not-yet-released 2009s!

So today, amidst our German Futures Campaign, we go the opposite direction, taking a quick glance back over our shoulders into the not-so-distant past with a small parcel of Keller's 2006 Kirchspiel GG.

Gilman doesn't have glorious words for Fritz Haag, but only because he didn't visit the estate. I didn't visit the estate either, but I did taste the wines at the Mainzer Weinbörse and then again in NYC and they are very, very good. (More below.)

Yes, 2009 is (another) glorious vintage in Germany... sorry!

The 2009 vintage in Germany is ripe, yet very clear, which for me makes a big difference. The fruit is super pure with really impressive concentrations, extract that coats the palate. The great estates found a ton of minerality as well as wicked-beautiful acidities, stern headmasters that whip everything into shape.

"An embarrassment of riches" - an apt phrase for Germany at the moment.

2009 is (another) glorious vintage in Germany... sorry. It's ripe, yet very clear, which for me makes a big difference. The fruit is super pure with really impressive concentrations, extract that coats the palate. The great estates found a ton of minerality as well as wicked-beautiful acidities, stern headmasters that whip everything into shape.

In fact, last summer when Paul Grieco asked me to write a small piece for his "Summer of Riesling" wine list at Terroir, I wrote about A.J. Adam's 2008 Kabinett.

Then, in mid-April of this year Asimov did his New York Times tasting of the 2008 Kabinetts and sure enough Adam's Kabinett came out on top.

Adam's 2005s were good, the 2006s baroque and a bit over-the-top, but exquisite. His 2007s were profound, the 2008s were perhaps the best of the vintage; and with the very, very good (possibly very great) 2009 vintage, A.J. has made another simply awesome collection.

These are the comparisons that come to mind, my gut reactions to Sven Enderle's and Florian Moll's beautiful Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) from Germany's Baden.

The first time Joe and I tasted it, we knew almost immediately that we'd buy all that was available to us. 

Who knows, maybe you're already a card-carrying member of the A.J. Adam cult.

Lord knows we are.

More than any other producer, youngster A.J. Adam seems to have grabbed the attention of the German wine drinking public, and for good reason. The wines are simply awesome. They are forceful and meaty, extremely complex with ample fruit, yet they flaunt an expression of terroir that can match any wine on the Mosel - or the Saar or Ruwer for that matter.

We first presented Weingut Peter Lauer to the United States in early fall 2009, and our email began verily: "WE DECLARE, WITHOUT HESITATION, THAT WEINGUT LAUER IS THE MOST EXCITING GERMAN FIND IN MANY YEARS."

Today we present the final tranche of Lauer's shivering 2008s, direct from the estate, exclusive for Crush - thank you Florian!

The 2008 "Kern" (named after a sub-parcel within the Ayler Kupp with ~80-year-old vines) provides for one of the most impressive displays of sweetness and acidity we've come across in a long time.

The fact is, Roman Niewodniczanski, the heir to the Bitburger Beer fortune, has been on a buying spree the last 10 years or so, securing some of the grandest, oldest-vine sites in the Saar.

For example, Roman's parcel in the famed Gottesfuss includes ungrafted, pre-phylloxera vines that are between 100 and 150 years old, though he also owns top parcels in the legendary Scharzhofberger (think Egon Müller), Altenberg and Braunfels, among others.

The BA is one of the highest art forms in German winemaking.

These are the rare German dessert wines, every bit the equal of the great Sauternes. Most German wine aficionados (unsurprisingly!) will tell you that the best German "stickies" present more than what a Sauternes can offer, with more elegance, finesse, minerality and acidity along with that magical, noble rot-inflected array of mango, apricot and honey. (See sidebar for more on the BA and noble rot.)