Koehler-Ruprecht, Kalstadter Steinacker, Riesling Kabinett, 2004

When I last tasted this wine this winter, its seemed like a traditional, off-dry kabinett. Possibly because it followed Koehler-Ruprecht's trocken Saumagen, with lower residual sugar. On its own, accompanied by the most eventful penultimate round in Spanish league history, it turned out to be a fiery imp, every bit as wild as the wines from Koehler's more illustrious vineyard.

Yeasts and minerals dominate the nose. The palate is drier than I remembered, yet elegant with a touch of honey ensuring the wine doesn't get bogged down in excessive austerity. I like Terry Thiese’s take on this wine, “a malty brioche-and-saffron oldschool Champagne". My take on it is that the yeasts sort of cleave a path wide open for the imagination, suggesting rolling hills of wheat fields in autumn. A terrific wine, fruity in way that only a wine that doesn’t need to push its fruit forward can be, with brainy complexity on both palate and nose and juicy acidity. Let it lie. (Jun. 9, 2007)

List price at Giaconda: 130 NIS (about 30 USD)

Comments

Anonymous said…
very good wine from a vey good producer.