Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt Josepshofer Riesling Spatlese, Mosel, Germany

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Done up in a fancy, lovely package, the 2007 Josephshofer Riesling Spatlese from their monopole vineyard represents something of a flagship for von Kesselstatt, and is correspondingly more expensive than their other Spatlesen, although I cannot say that I have observed any consistent sense of superiority. This year, though, the wine is certainly first class. Nouget-like, honeyed, malted, and subtly caramelized, here is as confectionary a Mosel Riesling Spatlese as one is likely to encounter. It is thus a delightful surprise to find an impression of luscious, peachy juiciness mounting on the palate, along with wafting, heliotrope-like perfume, and a sense of clarity and underlying mineral and spice nuances. This long, polished, opulently rich Riesling should be worth holding for more than two decades, and those who want a more balanced expression of sweetness should expect to wait a decade. A protracted harvest is almost bound to be especially beneficial for an estate with such enormous and widely-scattered vine acreage as that of von Kesselstatt. The acidity in this year’s collection is almost uniformly ripe, and often noticeably low. As usual, a certain austerity accrues to a fair share of Kesslestatt’s many trocken Rieslings (wines from whose labels the last vestiges of Pradikat designations have now disappeared), but happily, alcoholic heat was scarcely a problem here this year. Interestingly, the Saar wines among these were generally especially successful regardless of style. Annegret Reh’s plan in the Kabinett segment, incidentally, is to eventually eliminate the redundancy of having both feinherb (successors to former halbtrocken) and unabashedly sweet bottlings from a single site, but instead work in the direction of merely discreet – i.e. feinherb – sweetness for most of the estate’s Kabinetts. In a sweet style, the Kesselstatt Kabinetts have consistently represented excellent values with ready market-availability, whereas few of the drier Kabinetts (and virtually none of the estate’s trocken Rieslings) seem to make it to the U.S.Various importers including: P. J. Valckenberg International, Tulsa, OK; tel (918) 622-0424.

With its delicate aromas of flowers, fresh greens and a hint of mint, you might expect this to be a light, delicate wine. But it’s broad and rather sweet, marked by flavors of ripe apples and vanilla. It comes across a bit soft on the finish, but luscious.——J.C.(8/1/2009)—— 90