Koehler-Ruprecht R Kallstadter Saumagen Riesling Spatlese Goldkapsel, Pfalz, Germany

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Due for release in 2013, the Koehler-Rupprecht 2009 Kallstadter Saumagen Riesling Spatlese trocken R displays a nutty richness; polished texture; and generosity of ripe pit fruit flavors (subtly tinged by their pits and by fresh ginger) that goes well beyond those of the corresponding “regular” bottling. Suggestions of corn shoot on the nose as well as the palate add pungency and an illusion of sweetness (though of course the wine is analytically dry). Complex inner-mouth esters typical for Koehler-Rupprecht Riesling add intrigue without going overboard in volatility. This finishes with a striking sense of transparency to alkaline and chalky notes as well as abundant sheer refreshment, yet the longer it’s open the more an alluring sense of textural creaminess emerges. Look for at least a dozen years of vigor from this bottling. It represents, incidentally, the third consecutive vintage in which Bernd Philippi has chosen to bottle a Saumagen Spatlese “R,” and two consecutive bottlings was already a record. 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.