Pink grapefruit and pineapple in the nose of Kerpen’s “one-star” 2009 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Auslese* set the themes for a luscious palate that’s honeyed and slick, yet also juicy and refreshing. Nut oils and hints of salt add to a mouthwatering finish, if one from which I would welcome a bit more complexity and sheer length. Plan on being able to derive plenty of pleasure from this for at least 25 years, and a reexamination in a few years’ time may well find it to have gained in stature, with its fresh-fruited and botrytis elements more synergistically entwined. 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