Koehler-Ruprecht Kallstadter Saumagen Riesling Auslese, Pfalz, Germany

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Koehler-Rupprecht’s 2008 Kallstadter Saumagen Riesling Auslese was picked out in mid-October prior to the main harvest of its site. This smells of quince, yellow plum, orange, sweet corn, crystallized ginger, and the pure, honey-like secretions of botrytis. It beautifully illustrates the vintage proclivity for buoyancy, brightness, and elegance, even in a wine of creamy richness and rendered from fruit obviously very ripe and far-gone on noble rot. This soothes even as it stimulates in a finish of impressive length. There is great potential here, and I’d plan to drink this between ages 10 and 30. For comments on the recent sale of this estate (the most important of which is Bernd Philippi’s insistence that “nothing will change”) and on other developments here, see my report in issue 185. The choice of Pradikat-designation (or of “Reserve” status) for his many dry Rieslings from the large Saumagen site, explains Philippi, was once again this year – as in many others – based on an assessment of phenolic ripeness (clues: are the grapes greener or deeper gold; how big and how numerous are they?) and ultimately on style, concentration, and perceived aging potential, rather than on must weight, since sugar levels in the grapes were relatively uniform. Philippi acquired the major vineyard holdings of his friend Walter Henninger – notably in the chalky Annaberg – after that estate was recently dissolved, so while he had been farming these parcels and making the wines for many years under Henninger’s label, beginning in 2008 they became Koehler Rupprecht wines.A new U.S. importer had not yet been selected as of press time.