The Koehler-Rupprecht 2009 Kallstadter Saumagen Riesling Kabinett trocken mingles smoky black tea, Pinot Blanc-like nuttiness, and distilled essences of pit fruits and their pits in an aromatically high-toned and glossy palate exposition. Lightly-toasted almond, hazelnut, and sunflower seeds along with piquant fruit pit, pungent citrus rind, and chalk are allied with a sufficiently generous measure of primary lemon and yellow plum fruit so as to remain satisfyingly juicy and refreshing. This should perform well for at least 4-6 years. 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.