ya should have told me you had some! I would have DOUBLED your initial investment and taken a couple of them. ha!
The level of ripeness. Must weight increases with sugar content, which, in turn, increases with ripeness.
German wines are classified by must weight. In the Prädikat system Kabinett requires the lowest must weight, followed by Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese in increasing order.
Thanks! Learned something today.
The catch is it’s a minimum must weight, so Kabinett must weight can’t be Spatlese, but Spatlese must weight can be Kabinett as it exceeds the Kabinett must weight minimum.
Hence warmer years many Kabinett wines can taste like Spatlese, Spatlese can taste like Auslese because those were the original must weights.
Hope that helps,
KP
So the must weight changes every year?
It’s not a set perimeter?
The must weight requirements are set.
The grape harvest changes every year. In warmer years the grapes race past the Kabinett range, and give what can legally be Spatlese or Auslese. Producers like/need Kabinett to sell, as it is more popular, so you end up with supercharged Kabinett.
Thx David 
David touches on a major point. Mosel-Saar-Ruwer Riesling Kabinetts used to be my go-to everyday whites, but the wines I drank in the '60s - '80s simply no longer exist.
I was drinking wines with 7 - 9% alcohol, ~1% residual sugar, ~1% titratable acidity and ~3.0pH. For me, these were the wines of the Gods. From basics such as the Cooperative in Ayl to Maximin Grunhaus Abtsberg, they were simply the most refreshing wines I’ve ever had, or could imagine. Due to a combination of changes in viticulture and global warming, these wines are no longer made. If I had the time for another career, I would plant Riesling on the coast of Norway.
As David said, the must weights are set, but it is now rare for anybody to pick Riesling below the weight for Spatlese. I no longer bother to investigate, but it wouldn’t surprise me if half of the wines labeled ‘Kabinett’ were picked at Auslese levels.
Dan Kravitz
Dan,
Releasing Kabinett that is legally Auslese happens, but not so often. 2006 was an exception, as high ripeness, and rampant noble rot led to crazy wines. Spatlese level ripeness is of course common, but it’s worth noting that the historical minimum must weights for Kabinett were set at ridiculously low levels, in order to placate industrial producers. The minimums are a joke.
As for Kabinetts in the ‘60s, they did not exist. The modern concept of Kabinett was created via the 1971 wine law. And your sugar level info implies you were normally drinking halbtrocken, as 1% residual sugar is 1 g/l over the maximum for trocken. Additionally, there is still plenty of Kabinett in the 8-9% alcohol range. 7% is quite rare these days.
Perhaps it’s time to update your knowledge.
__I am getting an education from many of these posts. Good stuff and thanks. Piggy-backing some of the points about must weight (aka oechsle), I found these descriptions of the 2014 and 2015 AJ Adam Dhron Hofberg Riesling Kabinett, a wine that I have enjoyed in both vintages. FWIW
2014 A.J. Adam Dhron Hofberger Riesling Kabinett
from Skurnik website:
"Picked at a mere 79 oechsle (19.2 Brix), this the archetype of the old Kabinett style. Tightrope walking Riesling; versatile, crunchy and elegant. “Light and spicy, old-school Kab and quite linear, really salty, high-pitched and trebly and exotically malic. There’s even an agreeable tartness—and super length.”
2015 A.J. Adam Dhron Hofberger Riesling Kabinett
from the winemaker:
“It was not a bad vintage,” said Andreas Adam with obvious understatement. “But one had to be careful,” he added earnestly, “or the must weights could get ahead of you and then honest Kabinett would not have been possible.”
from Wine Advocate:
Picked at 91° Oechsle, the 2015 Dhroner Hofberg Riesling Kabinett comes from a cooler, later ripening spot in the deeper part of the side valley; it is predominantly fermented in stainless steel tanks. The wine has a clear, fresh and cool bouquet with bright fruit aromas and cool, earthy flavors. Sweet, light, fresh and piquant, this is a round and aromatic, pretty rich and juicy Kabinett. It finishes with nice freshness and piquancy. This is a Spätlese from a cooler spot and it can age for 15 to maybe 20 years.
With the warming trend is the Kabinett we crave of the cooler days no longer possible? Likely so with ever rising temps.
So what is the last great Kabinett vintage? I have not tasted many young wines post 08, but I find 08 Kabinett to be excellent. Lean and full of acid. Is 08 the caboose on the train?
There are some wonderful kabinetts in 2012.
Vineyard sources are changing for Kabinett. Sites that were once only used for QbA wines (remember those?) become good sites for more classic Kabinett.
Fabulous info from David, Howard, John, Don, Kris, as usual.
This is really potentially an extremely broad topic because as David points out it depends on where you start.
But lots of good info here already.
One point to note is there is must weight and then also residual sugar and net alcohol.
So you can start with pressed juice of the same must weight, divide into two (or more) batches, and ferment to different alcohol levels - say one to 9% with a higher RS and the other to 12% with a lower RS.
The first one will taste sweeter.
I know this post is about Kabinett, but in the example of the two batches above, if we are talking about Spatlese level must, the finished wine could be described as Spatlese trocken.
As long as it meets the criteria for RS in the wine. Plenty of 12% Spatlese out there these days that hasn’t gotten to 9 g/l of RS. See Feinherb!
David,
Thanks for the elucidation. I remember that it was the 1971 law that established current Kabinett levels. I did not realize that it was still rare to see Kabinetts harvested at Auslese levels.
Of current vintages on the market, which should I look for to find the lower-alcohol, lower RS, higher acidity that I prefer? 2012s are probably getting thin on the ground, especially where I live and probably even down in Boston (where I don’t expect to go for quite a while still).
Dan Kravitz
Dan,
2017 shows a lot of brightness. You might enjoy a wine such as the Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Kabinett Halbtrocken.
I think '15, '16, and '17 are all really great and have great acidity (so the perceived sweetness should be lower for a given amount of RS). 2015 is my favorite of the three (and one of my favorites in general), then 2017, then 2016, but if you’re getting the wine from a high quality producer, I think it’s pretty hard to go wrong. I like 2018 a lot too, but I definitely find them to be more round and plush and generally without the electric acidity of some other vintages, although I still think they are quite balanced.
Dan your should try a Hofgut Falkenstein Krettnacher Euchariusberg Riesling Kabinett Alte Reben. It leaves many other Mosel Kabinetts with a kind of too fruity or clumsy expression.
Kabinetts that tasted on their own are stellar examples.
Paul, I with you on 8-10 years being the sweet spot for me and most Kabinett, I think that gives them a chance to unwind but not lose their lively energy. I also think it’s not just the top line, and therefore more expensive, producers wines that gain from this time, even wines from more humble producers like Dr Heyden & Bollig-Lehnert give allot of pleasure with a little patients, this make these wines stunning values.
For me, Kabinett at 12-25 years from vintage is usually terrific. I think it’s many times over better as a wine experience than young Kabinett, though I know opinions vary on that.
Young Kabinett to me is more of a tasty fruit beverage experience, while mature Kabinett is much more of a wine experience. Complexity, terroir, cerebral.
If you haven’t experienced how good mature Kabinett is, you really need to find a way. Though it’s not easy to find them, and the best plan for the longer term is to age your own.