The Schonborn 2007 Erbacher Marcobrunn Riesling Auslese is a wine far-gone indeed on botrytis. High-toned pear distillate, kirsch, litchi, peach and gooseberry preserves, gardenia, and lily rise from the glass. On the palate, a creamy pool of pear drops, honey, licorice, marzipan, and liquid flowers overflows into a finish of striking, almost electric brightness no wonder, given 11.3 grams of acid!, featuring fresh lemon, pear skin, and pungent sweat. You can't pretend this is harmonious - and at first whiff you might mistake it for having come from a still - but it certainly makes for a remarkable experience. Sock some away for a few decades and taste what becomes of it is all I can suggest. Peter Barth took over cellar duties in 2001, and direction of the entire, fabled Schonborn estate in 2006. I had not visited in all that time - only heard rumors of a revival (tales of a sort that are too often false alarms when it comes to large, underperforming, noble Rheingau estates) - so I am happy to report that the renaissance of Schloss Schonborn is for real. Ten years ago, I found Schonborn's dry wines too austere and their sweet wines exaggeratedly so. Examples of these extremes have not been eliminated, but there are plenty of gorgeous and without doubt age-worthy wines that steer a steady stylistic course. Although - like most large German estates - Schonborn has pruned the number of single-vineyard wines and styles on offer when compared with the enormous annual line-ups that prevailed until a decade ago, this has been done with sensitivity to synergistic blends, and allowing plenty of room for each of the domaine's most celebrated vineyards - in particular their monopole Hattenheimer Pfaffenberg with 12 bottlings this vintage! and Erbacher Marcobrunn - to show-off. Various importers, including Dee Vine Wines San Francisco, CA; tel. (877) 389-9463, Slocum & Sons, North Haven, CT; tel. 203-239-8000, Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY; tel. (212) 355-0700