Penny royal, sage, marjoram, and lemon rind in the nose of Muller-Catoir’s 2009 Haardter Muskateller Kabinett trocken follow on a waxen-textured yet juicy palate. Tart suggestions of crab apple and a streak of salinity combine with the herbal and zesty pungency serve for a thoroughly invigorating, lip-smacking finish. The wine’s mere 11.5% alcohol helps convey a lovely sense of levity. This will prove deliciously versatile over the next 4-6 years. “Despite sporadic rain at harvest time,” notes Martin Franzen about the 2009 harvest, “cool weather kept botrytis completely at bay. Frankly,” he adds, “it was hard to make disappointing wine with raw materials of this caliber.” But it was also impossible to achieve nobly sweet results save from Rieslaner, with its notorious penchant for spontaneous desiccation even in the absence of botrytis. This is the first vintage, incidentally, for which this estate has claimed organic bona fides, and Franzen – even if predictably – claims to find additional depth in his wines thanks to that conversion. (Not that this estate has ever been anything but entirely circumspect in any use of herbicides or pesticides.)Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300