Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt Scharzhofberger Riesling Auslese Lange Goldkapsel, Mosel, Germany

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Von Kesselstatt’s 2007 Scharzhofberger Riesling Auslese Long Gold Capsule #10 (that number – prominently displayed on the label – serving simply as a recurring nickname for this bottling, and there being no other Scharzhofberger Auslese here this vintage) smells of caramelized white peach, quince, lily, and papaya; is lusciously juicy as well as creamy and richly nutty on the palate, yet at the same time extraordinarily delicate and buoyant; and finishes with sumptuous length, incorporating a (for botrytis Auslese) astonishing degree of saline and stony mineral nuance. I would not plan to revisit this gem for a decade while its overt sweetness backs off a bit, though that is purely a matter of personal taste. It is certainly an outstanding rendition of its great site, and one that could be rewardingly followed for three decades. 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.