2009 Kallstadter Saumagen Riesling Auslese trocken RR

Dominik Sona, ex-proprietor Bernd Philippi’s right hand in the cellar during the latter’s last four harvests at Koehler-Ruprecht, rose to the dauntingly selfless and difficult task of preserving a style arguably shared with no other dry Rieslings in the world. Since Philippi’s departure, it has surprised me that Sona has been able to moderate the levels of volatility associated with Koehler-Ruprecht’s lightly oxidative, at times flor-inflected style, yet without the wines losing their inimitable personalities. With Sona’s assumption of overall directorship, Johannes Lochner has in turn become his cellarmaster, while Franziska Schmitt performs a leading role in the vineyards as well as on the marketing side. Anyone who thought that quality might have gone downhill at this iconic Pfalz address (as rumor widely had it in the aftermath of Philippi’s discordant rupture with the American family to whom he had sold his family’s estate) should at the very least be disabused of that suspicion by the 2014 collection.

For any readers unfamiliar with this iconic winery, not only the style of its wines but also the distinctive breadth of its portfolio deserves brief explanation. While legally dry Rieslings dominate, a significant share is also generally bottled with sweetness ranging from hidden to overt (although 2014 is the exception to that rule). Dry wines are identified as “Kabinett,” “Spätlese” or “Auslese” according to phenolic ripeness and alcoholic weight. (But if you imagine that any Kabinett here during the past three decades has been deficient in ripeness, then you know neither this estate’s track record nor the proclivities of the heat-trapping, calcareous bowl that is Kallstadter Saumagen.) Depending on the assessment of their potential, small selected lots of dry Spätlese or Auslese, following a normal bottling after 10 or 11 months in cask, may be held back and only released after 5 to 7 years. Cellar-door customers subscribe in advance to small allocations of these “R” and “RR” bottlings but, fortunately, tiny amounts are set aside for the trade, including importers. To my palate, there are scarcely any more profound dry Rieslings than the best Koehler-Ruprecht reserves. Since the overwhelming majority of wines that were just described come from, taste of, and have always been marketed as Saumagen, this estate was on a collision course with the VDP, given that organization’s “thou shalt have no other gods before ‘GG’” policy, not to mention its rejection of Prädikat designations for dry wines. Koehler-Ruprecht departed the VDP in 2014. (Bernd Philippi has acquired a small parcel of Saumagen from which to continue vinifying a dry Riesling. I have reviewed the first two vintages of that wine under his name in this report.)

Sona didn’t start picking Riesling in earnest in 2014 until October, and although overall yields ended up not that far below normal, the need to reject botrytis-tinged fruit, combined with his assessment of that fruit’s features, led to there being exclusively dry wines this year from the Saumagen. Sona did “speculate” on being able to harvest a botrytized Scheurebe, but in the end lost that small crop. Thanks to the insidious suzukii fly (as discussed in my general introduction to this report), Pinot Noir was relegated to a single, not terribly convincing rosé.

This year’s collection reminds me of what I used to say about some of F. X. Pichler’s amazing successes despite their high alcohol: “Other growers should be warned, ‘Don’t try this in your kitchen!’” To be sure, at 13.2% to 13.7% we’re not talking about alcohol in the upper F.X. league; but still, those levels are almost impossible to reconcile with what one tastes. “They were slow to ferment, not finishing until June or July, yet I still got a really high conversion rate,” remarked Sona, though I find it nearly as difficult to credit that explanation. Release dates for non-reserve Saumagen Rieslings have been moved back beginning with this vintage, the Kabinett trocken having only been released in January of this year; the corresponding Spätlese to be released in May; and the Auslese only in September of 2016 after 12 months in the bottle.

As these wines are always brought to market late, I have not yet even tasted the 2010s from Bernd Philippi. Although he has often said that 2007 was the best vintage of his career, 2009 is certainly another milestone in this estate's history. The wines portrayed below will only be released over the next three to five years, but try to find the Auslese R and RR when they become available. This is a style that will never be made like this again. That said, the simpler wines are of less interest. Also recommended2009 Weissburgunder Kabinett Trocken (85), 2009 Kallstadter Saumagen Riesling Kabinett Trocken (87).Also tasted2009 Kallstadter Annaberg Chardonnay Spatlese Trocken, 2009 Kallstadter Riesling Kabinett Trocken.