Kesselstatt’s 2008 Kaseler Kehrnagel Riesling Kabinett feinherb displays some of the same aggressively herbal (chervil, roux and wild carrot) aromas that accrued to several of its siblings in this collection from the Nies’chen, but here there is lovely, Ruwer-typical red currant, grapefruit, and hints of brown spices that are then reinforced on the palate by the wine’s judicious residual sugar. This finishes exuberantly, refreshingly, and with smoky, saline mineral allusions as well as herbal and zesty pungency. It should remain attractively versatile for at least the next 6-8 years and can certainly be treated as a to all intents and purposes dry wine. Annegret Reh’s 2008s display their acids somewhat more prominently than did her 2007s. While for the second year running neither alcoholic heat nor roughness were an impediment to her penchant for dry Grosse Gewachse, this did not mean that the trocken end of the spectrum here was always that ideally-balanced, as there was not only tartness but considerable bitterness to deal with as well. This enormous estate has made great strides, but I think that stylistically they could be more sensitive to the message of their terrific vineyards, at least to the extent that their customer base allows (since the Germans demand of them trocken). In my view, Reh’s move toward more flexibility with and a wider range of residual sugar in the off-dry half of the Kesselstatt portfolio, especially Kabinett, is an excellent step in that direction, but “Grosse Gewachse” of 10-15 grams residual sugar would be an even better one! Incidentally, machine harvesters (first used here, as at many top-notch German estates, in the hectic 2006 vintage) were employed this year in some of the more accessible and less distinguished sites in order to buy time for the entire crop to hang longer, although even so, picking began in mid-October, and concluded November 8.Various importers including: P. J. Valckenberg International, Tulsa, OK; tel. (918) 622-0424

Kesselstatt’s 2007 Kaseler Kehrnagel Riesling Kabinett feinherb – from a fine site on the Ruwer whose wines one no longer encounters often other than at this address – smells pungently of sage, oregano, and caraway. Lime and gooseberry tartness on the palate – tempered by flattering glossiness of texture – enhances the resemblance to Sauvignon Blanc, with an invigorating combination of citrus, herbs and salt informing a land and refreshing if somewhat spare finish. A protracted harvest is almost bound to be especially beneficial for an estate with such enormous and widely-scattered vine acreage as that of von Kesselstatt. The acidity in this year’s collection is almost uniformly ripe, and often noticeably low. As usual, a certain austerity accrues to a fair share of Kesslestatt’s many trocken Rieslings (wines from whose labels the last vestiges of Pradikat designations have now disappeared), but happily, alcoholic heat was scarcely a problem here this year. Interestingly, the Saar wines among these were generally especially successful regardless of style. Annegret Reh’s plan in the Kabinett segment, incidentally, is to eventually eliminate the redundancy of having both feinherb (successors to former halbtrocken) and unabashedly sweet bottlings from a single site, but instead work in the direction of merely discreet – i.e. feinherb – sweetness for most of the estate’s Kabinetts. In a sweet style, the Kesselstatt Kabinetts have consistently represented excellent values with ready market-availability, whereas few of the drier Kabinetts (and virtually none of the estate’s trocken Rieslings) seem to make it to the U.S.Various importers including: P. J. Valckenberg International, Tulsa, OK; tel (918) 622-0424.

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The Kesselstatt 2004 Kaseler Nies’chen Riesling Kabinett feinherb smells of peach and red currant and lands on the palate displaying an uncanny combination of creaminess and nut oil flavors layered with bright clear berry and citrus character. An engagingly luscious orchard and berry-fruited, distinctly stony finish completes the very satisfying and impressively refined picture here. I tasted the Spatlese trocken from this site from right off the bottling line and from tank, but it was low-toned, disappointingly diffuse, and betrayed its alcohol (which was the highest of any of the dry wines I tasted here). Importer: P. J. Valckenberg International, Tulsa, OK; tel. (918) 622-0424.