Weingut Kerpen Graacher Domprobst Riesling Grosses Gewachs, Mosel, Germany

點擊次數(shù)：2499

Now chairman of the Bernkasteler Ring growers’ association, Kerpen was an early advocate of their rendering wines that borrowed the “uber-Pradikat” devised by the VDP, and while his 2009 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Grosses Gewachs harbors 11 grams of residual sugar, his organization has decided – in my view regrettably –to conform after this vintage to VDP requirement that “Grosses Gewachs” be legally trocken. The present instance combines stuffing and creaminess of texture with the sense of juiciness, interplay, and lift that prevailed with this year’s “regular” Sonnenuhr Spatlese trocken. (The high quotient of fine particulate matter in the old vines parcel where this originates seems to have promoted more acid retention.) Apple, pineapple, nut paste, and musky, wafting floral perfume pervade this wine of sap and energy that I imagine will be worth following for the better part of a decade. With this bottling – unlike others of his 2009 vintage “trocken”s – Kerpen has achieved a notably more refined dry result than he did last year. 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

Kerpen's 2008 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Grosses Gewachs represents a second year in which he and other members of the Bernkasteler Ring growers association (of which he was just elected chairman) have used the term -Grosses Gewachs- - best known for its definition and employment by the VDP growers- association - to designate selected dry-tasting Rieslings. A deeper color and 13% alcohol signify both higher ripeness and a hint of botrytis, from a picking at the end of October. Toasty, nutty, applejack-like aromas lead to a lush, mouth coating palate with piquant bite of apple skin, toasted nuts, fruit pit, and brown spices. This lacks the refinement, freshness, impeccable balance, or clarity of the best dry wines in the present Kerpen collection, but it finishes emphatically and pungently, and should prove useful if cautiously paired over the next several years. In recent years, Martin Kerpen has increasingly proven himself a master of dry Riesling, and the acid structure and relatively moderate accumulation of grape sugar relative to phenolic ripeness that characterize 2008 played into his skilled hand in that genre, in which, additionally, he relied increasingly this year on ambient yeasts. (Of course, he is adept with residually sweet Riesling as well.) it's interesting to study Kerpen's detailed map of vineyard parcels, incidentally, and to see how after the controversial Flurbereinigung or general vineyard restructuring and replanting that is now under way in Wehlen, he will end up with around 8-9 parcels - some identical to his current acreage - or about half the number into which his total landholdings are morsellated at present.Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300

Although the term “Grosses Gewachs” is associated with the VDP growers association (yet utilized by relatively few of that organization’s Mosel members), a number of members of the so-called Bernkastler Ring adopted the term in 2006 and again this year to refer to ambitious dry-tasting Riesling bottlings. Kerpen’s 2007 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Grosses Gewachs offers grapefruit zest and toasted nuts on the nose and a piquant palate. Impressively dense, this manages to avoid any sense of heaviness, heat, or harshness from its 13% alcohol, and finishes with imposing depth of nutty be worth following for at least 5-6 years. While Martin Kerpen’s extensive array of dry Rieslings from 2007 is not on quite the superlative order of their immediate predecessors, his residually sweet wines are again highly successful.Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel (516) 677-9300

Although the term “Grosses Gewachs” is associated with the VDP growers association but utilized by relatively few of that organizations Mosel members, the members of the so-called Bernkastler Ring adopted the term in 2006 to refer to ambitious dry Riesling bottlings, and Kerpen’s 2006 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Grosses Gewachs (what in the past would have been his Auslese trocken – or perhaps halbtrocken) avoids the slight severity and bitterness that took the qualitative edge off of its 2005 counterpart. Toasted nuts, baked apple, and wet stone inform this voluminous, rich Riesling, which finishes with real grip and no sign of heat from its nearly 14% alcohol. I wonder how this will mature, but in any case it should be fascinating for at least the next several years. Martin Kerpen and his vines had a hard act to follow after their successes in 2005 but were more than up to the task, confirming the hypothesis that these always excellent wines have crossed a new quality threshold. Still, the last place I would have imagined 2006s keeping pace was in the range of trocken.Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300