Koehler Ruprecht Saumagen Kabinett Trocken 2022

Koehler Ruprecht works from a manor house in Kallstad in the heart of the Pfalz, with around ten hectares of vineyards and a reputation for full, powerful Riesling. This wine comes from the Saumagen, a renowned single site set within a former limestone quarry, and that limestone bedrock is central to the style: unlike the slate of the Mosel it lends breadth, weight and a firm mineral drive rather than featherweight delicacy. The warmer, drier Pfalz climate ripens Riesling more fully than sites further north, giving the wine its volume and depth. The grapes are farmed organically. This dry Kabinett Trocken is aged for ten months in large old foudres, neutral oak casks that add no vanilla or wood flavour but allow a slow exchange of oxygen and gentle lees contact, rounding the texture and knitting the wine together. It is pale gold. The nose combines green apple and lemon with white peach, apricot and an emerging honeyed note, while the palate is dry, broad and mineral, its power balanced by bright acidity and a long, salty, smoky finish. Serve at 10 to 12 degrees in a white glass. Its weight and cut make it a match for roast pork, richer white fish and lightly spiced dishes.