Kesseler Riesling Kabinett Trocken, Rheingau, Germany

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Kesselers 2009 Riesling Kabinett trocken – stemming as usual from the steep slate slopes of Lorch and Lorchausen – is alluringly scented with iris, lemon grass, mirabelle, and fresh lime. Bright and tart on entry, it delivers pungent lavender and piquant lime peel and fruit pit along with wet stone in a long, sassy finish. The infectious juiciness and clarity of the corresponding Silvaner-Riesling blend is not achieved here, but this concentrated yet lithe Riesling will have its own admirable and refreshing uses over the next 3-4 years. August Kesseler and his cellarmaster Max Himstedt promise great things from their 2009 Pinot Noirs but they were not yet ready to show them last September. In light of that allegedly outstanding quality as well as of the difficult market, they decided that their 2008 collection in red should culminate at the Cuvee Max quality level and not include vineyard-designated bottlings. In his usual conservative and market-sensitive approach, Kesseler also elected to bottle from 2009 one of his smallest Riesling collections in memory, inter alia forgoing any attempt to capture what little botrytis was present. Irrigation was critical during the late summer drought, insists Kesseler, “otherwise, we would have harvested grapes in the Rudesheimer Berg of only 80 or 85 Oechsle.”Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802

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

Kesseler’s generic 2006 Riesling Kabinett trocken – offers piquant, zesty aromas and flavors of fresh apple, grapefruit, kumquat, peach kernel, and toasted nuts. The vividly fresh, sappy juiciness of this Riesling and its transparency to stony, saline mineral suggestions – above all in a vintage of this sort – are a tribute to the steep slate slopes of Lorch whence its fruit came. Relish this over the next couple of years.Kesseler suffered a 50% loss in crop from his long-term average, but ruthless selectivity on top of his usual low yields paid dividends in quality albeit at the price of prominent sweetness. Kesseler attempted neither a Kabinett, nor (insisting that botrytis and alcohol would have been too evident) did he essay any dry wines from his estate holdings in Rudesheim. The 2005 vintage reds – bottled in mid-2007 – have fulfilled their excellent promise. Needless to say, from these steep stone sites, and cropped at the levels requisite for top quality, Kesseler Pinot Noirs do not come cheap. But they certainly invite comparison with red Burgundies selling for comparable prices. And while they are all very ripe, none of these 2005s betray their alcohol in bitterness or heat.Various importers including: Classic Wine Imports, Boston, MA tel. 800 362 4420; Dee Vine Wines, San Francisco, CA tel. (877) 389-9463; Ewald Moseler Selections, Portland, OR; tel. (503) 236-9370