Koehler-Ruprecht Kallstadter Saumagen Riesling Auslese Trocken, Pfalz, Germany

點(diǎn)擊次數(shù)：2089

Equally certainly, as sow belly (Sau Magen), it won’t be to everyone’s taste! Kirsch, almond extract, white peach, and pine resin scent the 2008 Kallstadter Saumagen Riesling Auslese trocken. Firm and juicy on the palate, it offers pronouncedly alkaline and iodine notes along with distilled pit fruits and abundance of high-toned inner-mouth esters. This is another of those Koehler-Rupprecht offerings that tread a fine line in terms of volatility, but by doing so achieves a striking presence, including a penetrating length. I predict, though, that the corresponding Spatlese will prove the more interesting and long lived of the two. 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.