Yesterday I hosted a BIG vertical of Koehler-Ruprecht “Saumagen” Riesling from 2014-1996. Stunning wines, stunning experience. I strongly recommend to visit the Rieslingfeier at the end of february in NY, as Dominik Sona&Franzi Schmitt will present their wines.
In addition here is a lovely article by Stuart Pigott about the event yesterday. (in english!)
If you´re new to the Rieslings from Koehler-Ruprecht, I strongly recommend to buy the 2014 SAUMAGEN Kabinett/Spätlese/Auslese Riesling trocken. Great wines!
BTW, the 1996 Saumagen Auslese trocken R was a masterpiece and such wonderful to drink right now. Has anybody said that dry Riesling could not age?!
I have never been a huge fan of this estate. It has always had a wonderful reputation, but the wine is made in too much of an oxidized style for my taste.
Thanks Martin. Looked like it was a great tasting.
Can you please talk a bit about the recent changes at the domain. Over the last 2-3 years I have been very impressed with the wines and started to buy them. Not sure if the domain has improved or I just did not pay attention to them in the past.
the famous Bernd Philippi is not at the estate anymore. Now, Dominik Sona&Franzi Schmitt are in control and they make a great job. Dominik Sona came to the estate Koehler-Ruprecht in 2008. I tasted 4 Rieslings from the vintage 2014 and they were all brilliant. Also the 2012 Rieslings were great. For example the 2012 Saumagen Auslese trocken R was clearly a WOW-wine. Or the 2014 Auslese trocken, the same. I also strongly recommend the 2014 Saumagen Kabinett due to the stunning depth&complexity for a Kabinett. Also the 2012 Saumagen Kabinett and 2012 Saumagen Auslese trocken were very fine wines.
And the aged R and RR from 2009&2008&2007&2004&1996 were simply mind-blowing.
One of my favorite producers. I had the pleasure of visiting in person in 2004. K-R is also doing good and interesting work with Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay lately.
Interesting. I do not drink their wines much anymore and really do not pay attention to the estate, but I have found that on every wine I have ever tasted from them.
There used to be some discussion on wine boards comparing the winemaking methods of Koehler-Ruprecht and Muller-Catoir, that the former wines were made in an oxidative manner while M-C’s were made in a reductive manner, but I don’t remember any contention that the finished wines reflected those aspects of the winemaking, and I never had a Muller-Catoir that was in any way reductive (many, many bottles up through vintage 2001, and drunk up until the present day), nor a Koehler-Ruprecht that was oxidized (fewer, but still quite a few bottles, particularly of the '93 vintage. However, I haven’t opened any K-H in a number of years (even though I suspect that I still have a '93 Saumagen Auslese somewhere in storage).
very interesting. I know oxidative wines especially in case of Orange Wines. But clearly not for “Saumagen” Rieslings from Koehler-Ruprecht. Maybe inexperienced wine-drinkers have problems to cope with this kind of style by Koehler-Ruprecht, as they are not fruit-driven Rieslings. They are powerful with a lot of extract and with flavors of hay, seaweed, spice and a distinctive minerality. The wine-journalist and Riesling expert, Stuart Pigott, made some reference to Clos St. Hune. YES, Clos St. Hune, G-Max and Saumagen are member of the Holy Grail of Riesling. And don´t forget, all 3 are based on limestone.
The discussions about the wines, and winemaking, to which I spoke were from the Nineties and before, when Bernd Philippi and Hans Gunther-Schwarz were in charge and their respective estates. Winemaking in an oxidative manner means that the wines before bottling are exposed to a limited amount of air (think white Burgundy) perhaps through lees stirring, or topping up, or in barrels or tanks that allow some oxygen ingress. If done in a controlled manner and only up to a point, the wines won’t become oxydized. Reduced winemaking simply mean that during the winemaking (before bottling) oxygen is, as much as possible, kept away from the wine, either through sulfur additions or no stirring or the kinds of vessels in which the wines are elevaged. Neither style, when done properly, produce finished wines that are either oxydized or reduced.
Never having visited either estate nor spoken with those winemakers, I have no idea if those descriptions of their winemaking regimes are accurate, but that was the gist of the discussions I read.
Winemaking at Koehler-Ruprecht (during the Philippi times and afterwards) is indeed moderately oxidative as all wines are raised in old foudre casks. It’s not as oxidative as new barriques, but more oxidative than stainless steel or concrete tanks. I have experienced that one or the other Koehler-Ruprecht Riesling can at certain stages of its life taste a little oxidative, but for me that’s more an exception than the rule. It’s true that the winemaking philosophy of Hans-Günther Schwarz at Müller-Catoir was more reductive. Most wines were raised in stainless steel. That’s still the case today at Müller-Catoir.
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