Koehler-Ruprecht R Kallstadter Saumagen Riesling Auslese Trocken, Pfalz, Germany

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At slightly over 13% in alcohol, the Koehler-Rupprecht 2009 Kallstadter Saumagen Riesling Auslese trocken R was rendered from material of comparable Oechsle to the vintage’s two Saumagen Spatlesen, so that the designation Auslese was clearly chosen based on personality rather than must weight. Aromas of kirsch and mirabelle parallel the emphasis on distilled-fruit esters that was encountered in the “regular” Saumagen Auslese trocken. There is an especially strong fresh ginger pungency, a Saumagen trait that is likely to become even more prominent with bottle age (and also usually comes out more in off-dry renditions). A palpable sense of stuffing and richness of pit fruit flesh here are impressive, though the clarity, vivacity, and refreshment found in the “R” Spatlese is absent. Peat and chalk mingle with nut oils and pit fruits in a finish of almost opaque density and layering but formidable persistence. I would anticipate a dozen years of high-performance. Bernd Philippi has a new cellarmaster, young Dominik Sona, who has his own fledgling winery amid the Pfalzerwald, well west of the Weinstrasse’s beaten track. Operating in Philippi’s long shadow could, one imagines, prove daunting, but Sona – who most recently worked for Ernst Loosen at the J. L. Wolf winery, and about whom the numerous Pfalz growers I quizzed all expressed enthusiasm – exhibits a fidelity to the established, highly-distinctive stylistic virtues of Koehler-Rupprecht, along with a wry humor and self-critical self-confidence that strike me as just right for his job. And the 2009 results certainly speak volumes not just for Sona’s aptitude but for Philippi’s promise when he sold his winery two and a half years ago that the wines as well as his own role would remain as before. Even though this estate is best-known for its dry Rieslings, Philippi has continued to render small volumes of residually sweet wine nearly every year. From 2009, though – he claims on account of vintage character not lack of demand – only two non-trocken Rieslings were essayed. (For an account of Philippi’s methodology, consult my previous reports. His “R” and “RR” reserve bottlings represent selected casks bottled at 10-11 months but cellared for years before release.)A new U.S. importer has still not been arranged, and it’s quite possible that Philippi will work with more than one.