Smoky black tea and toasted nuts along with musk oil and raw scallop in the intriguing nose of Kerpen’s 2009 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spatlese trocken are followed by a pity, stone-paved palate impression and persistent finish. A sense of overt substantiality keeps this from displaying the elegance of its also more complex Wehlener Sonnenuhr counterpart, and it certainly won’t make one forget the outstanding 2008 Domprobst trocken. That noted, this serious if slightly dour expression of its vintage and site may well display additional virtues over the next 3-5 years. Martin Kerpen’s 2009 collection Rieslings possess uncommon brightness for their vintage, and he continues to excel across a blessedly broad stylistic range, from legally trocken through nobly sweet – and, more importantly, with plenty of successful stops in-between. It’s worth noting that Kerpen is especially keen on the quality of his nobly sweet 2009s – wines that are certainly close to off-the-charts on paper – although as readers can see, my praise for them is more selective.Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300