Baron Zu Knyphausen Kiedricher Sandgrub Riesling Kabinett Feinherb

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While the corresponding Erbacher Kabinett trocken bottling exhibited a slightly diffuse personality familiar from numerous past renditions of Knyphausen Riesling that grew near to the Rhine shore, his 2009 Kiedricher Riesling Kabinett feinherb is delicious. Scents of gentian and almond segue into a polished, juicy palate suggesting Rainier cherries and tinged with salt and chalk in a satisfyingly lingering finish. With its mere hint of sweetness not barring one from calling this wine -dry,- yet sufficient to heighten its fruit and floral notes as well as help keep it buoyant (at 11.5% alcohol), I would expect this to serve well for at least 4-6 year. Gerko zu Knyphausen has acquired a new partner (holding a 50% share) who will assist in management and marketing. When this new investment funds director Wolfgang Frank informed me - employing the allegedly Burgundian classificatory language now so fashionable among German vintners - that the estates portfolio had been significantly restructured, I was to say the least skeptical. Naturally, though, of paramount importance is the quality of whatever is put into bottle (and the Knyphausen estate had registered a few disappointing recent collections). What I found when I visited in November was Knyphausen and long-time vineyard and cellar manager Rainer Ruttiger very much at their posts; a revision of the wine line-up that incorporated rather bold and in my opinion largely laudable stylistic innovations; and the most exciting collection I can recall at this address in nearly two decades. Its obvious from my conversations with the team that renewed rigor in vine management has been contributory to improved quality, and whatever combination of renewed inspiration and fiscal freedom has further impacted this years performance, heres hoping that it continues!Importer: P. J. Valckenberg International, Tulsa, OK; tel. (918) 622-0424

The effect not only of relatively early harvest but also slightly higher elevation back from the Rhine seems to make itself felt in the clarity and lift exhibited by Knyphausen’s 2006 Kiedricher Sandgrub Riesling Kabinett feinherb. And while this wine tastes essentially dry, its element of residual sugar is critical in counteracting any tendency toward austerity, and in reinforcing the lovely sense of floral perfume offered in nose. Saline, chalk, and meat stock lend a Chablis-like aspect not uncommon in dry Riesling from Kiedrich, and this finishes not just with fascinating minerality, but with lift and elegance. Enjoy it over the next 3-5 years. Gerko zu Knyphausen’s sites (most near the Rhine shore) fared variably in the difficult 2006 vintage, and those he picked soonest (or from higher elevations) – even if ostensibly of lesser pedigree –turned out best.Importer: P. J. Valckenberg International, Tulsa, OK; tel. (918) 622-0424