Three Bottles Koehler-Ruprecht
From the Kallstadter Saumagen we have three Rieslings from Koehler-Ruprecht harvested from 2013 to 2015 on the table. Two Kabinett and one Spätlese.
“Rast ich, so rost ich” - if I rest, I rust - is written on the bottle. Nevertheless, you can’t describe the label as progressive, it’s rather classic, but I often prefer that to at first sight more appealing designs. Even with small spots and a little bit of mould on the edges it looks great when it ages. And aging is the keyword with these wines. The wines are made to rest some time in the cellar for opening and to get better and better. In this sense, the wines that were in the glass are of course still much too young, but I think that the three vintages, divided into two quality levels, have nevertheless given a good insight into the world of Kallstadter Saumagen from Koehler-Ruprecht.
All three wines come from this great site in the Palatinate. Two of them, vintage 2013 and 2015, are Kabinett level and serve as entry entry into the estate’s single-vineyard wines, and because we sadly do not own a 2014 Kabinett, there is a Spätlese from the same year to illustrate the vintage while being one level above the other two in terms of Prädikat. All wines are dry and one could climb the quality pyramid up to the dry Auslese with several R’s at Koehler-Ruprecht.
We start with the Kabinett from 2013: Clear yellow nose, light apricot compote, caramelized during cooking. In the mouth then crisp, first there is actually only acidity, which is then supplemented by spice and juiciness. But you can tell that the year was not easy in the Palatinate, the wine is not really round in the mouth and will not become so over the evening. This is not to say that it would be bad Riesling, but it can’t keep up with the other two bottles today.
There is a Kabinett in the glass again, but harvested two years later in 2015 and therefore two years less matured. In the nose more fruit, there is apple, papaya and a saltiness, a sea breeze, mixed with the rather tart smell of apples, fresh from the mill with core and peel and a bit of glue. Great complex nose. Despite the two years less in the cellar, the acidity is much better integrated here, it is spicier and more filigree at the same time and rounded out with creamy apple on the palate. Great!
Finally a step up the pyramid and at the same time a year down. The Spätlese from 2014 has much more sweetness in the nose than the other two wines. There is honey, nuts mixed with light, homemade iced tea next to a ripe pear. Very exciting and of the three wines it has certainly the most interesting expression when smelling it. In the mouth the wine is very soft and then from the sides of the tongue to the inside of the mouth you get a spicy and juicy sensation that forces you into wanting more. Less fruit in the mouth, but more length. This is the wine of the evening! I have to order more…