Kesseler Riesling Kabinett Trocken, Rheingau, Germany

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Sourced from the steep slopes of Lorch and Lorchausen – well north and around a sharp bend in the Rhine from Rudesheim, but still officially part of the Rheingau – Kesseler’s 2008 Riesling Kabinett trocken features white peach, grapefruit, and orange zest in a bright, tart, ultra-refreshing performance that grips with tenacity and invigoration. Certainly this comes off as ultra-dry and texturally lean, yet at the same time – in the sense of sheer fruit intensity – it’s generous ? not to mention free of bitterness or heat. I’d find it ideally suited to summer fare, or on its own in the warm months of 2010, or even 2011. Cellarmaster Max Himstedt said he and August Kesseler had decided they would de-acidity if the acids in Riesling did not drop below a certain level (not a problem in the Rudesheimer Berg, but a potential one in lesser sites of that village and in Lorch). In the event, it was possible to let the fruit hang long enough to avoid this, and after the significant tartrate precipitation of the winter, the measurable acid levels don’t even seem extreme on paper, although brightness is certainly a trait most of their Rieslings this vintage have in common. A sign of the internal assessment of any given vintage at this address is whether two, one, or no Erstes Gewachs bottling is essayed – and Kesseler’s record on that score has been very conservative. In 2008, he bottled two. On the other hand, no sweet wines – botrytized or otherwise – were attempted. The Kesseler 2008 reds were too immature to assess on the occasion of my last visit there, and as usual I have chosen (and he prefers) to offer an assessment of his finished wines, in this instance of 2007.Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802