Koehler-Ruprecht Kallstadter Annaberg Chardonnay Spatlese Trocken

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The Koehler-Rupprecht 2009 Kallstadter Annaberg Chardonnay Spatlese trocken – from vineyards recently-acquired but long-farmed by Philippi for his friend Walter Henninger – hasn’t quite the fascination or knittedness of the corresponding 2008, nor the harmony of creaminess and fresh fruit elements that characterize the Koehler-Rupprecht Pinot Blanc. That said, the invigoration of salted fresh apple and the sense of creamy lushness displayed here are attractive in and of themselves, and chalk and bitterness of apple pit impressively extend this wine’s finish without cutting off the flow of primary juiciness. I would like to revisit it in a year or two and see whether things have better come together. Bernd Philippi has a new cellarmaster, young Dominik Sona, who has his own fledgling winery amid the Pfalzerwald, well west of the Weinstrasse’s beaten track. Operating in Philippi’s long shadow could, one imagines, prove daunting, but Sona – who most recently worked for Ernst Loosen at the J. L. Wolf winery, and about whom the numerous Pfalz growers I quizzed all expressed enthusiasm – exhibits a fidelity to the established, highly-distinctive stylistic virtues of Koehler-Rupprecht, along with a wry humor and self-critical self-confidence that strike me as just right for his job. And the 2009 results certainly speak volumes not just for Sona’s aptitude but for Philippi’s promise when he sold his winery two and a half years ago that the wines as well as his own role would remain as before. Even though this estate is best-known for its dry Rieslings, Philippi has continued to render small volumes of residually sweet wine nearly every year. From 2009, though – he claims on account of vintage character not lack of demand – only two non-trocken Rieslings were essayed. (For an account of Philippi’s methodology, consult my previous reports. His “R” and “RR” reserve bottlings represent selected casks bottled at 10-11 months but cellared for years before release.)A new U.S. importer has still not been arranged, and it’s quite possible that Philippi will work with more than one.