Koehler-Ruprecht Kallstadter Steinacker Gewurztraminer Auslese, Pfalz, Germany

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A Koehler-Rupprecht 2009 Kallstadter Steinacker Gewurztraminer Auslese displays an alkaline, chalky mineral cast even in the nose, its high-toned distilled pit fruit elements almost grappa-like and accompanied by more familiar hints of rose petal and litchi. This wine’s opulent texture and impingement of esters complement one another, but while it is nearly halbtrocken analytically, what sweetness it does display is relatively prominent due to the wine’s low acidity, and in need of better integration. There is good length, and I would plan on revisiting this in a couple of years, though on drinking it within the next half dozen. (A corresponding Scheurebe Auslese displayed oddly humus-like notes in the nose and awkward sweetness – evidently “the one that got away” among this year’s collection.) 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.

Koehler-Rupprecht’s 2008 Kallstadter Steinacker Gewurztraminer Auslese is pungently redolent of brown spices, lychee, and caraway. Surprisingly firm in feel for this variety, this wine’s chalky and alkaline mineral suggestions serve as a foil for its heady ripeness and inner-mouth perfume, as well as helping to offset the sweetness in its spicy finish. I suspect it will keep well for at least two decades, and perhaps for as long as the corresponding Riesling, a category at this estate that I have much more familiarity with aging.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.