Koehler-Ruprecht Chardonnay Pfalz Kabinett Trocken 2022
93 POINTS: Wine Direct Tasting Team
91 POINTS: Stuart Pigott, James Suckling
91 POINTS: Heiner Lobenberg
100% Chardonnay
"A charm offensive in a glass! On the first sniff, this offers up juicy pear and white peach, reminiscent of a good St Veran from Burgundy. Left in the glass it developed more flavours of yellow plum and a touch of spice, not oak spice more an earthy spice, really intriguing stuff. The palette is bright and lively with real depth and length. No obvious oak to mess up the lovely Chardonnay flavours. If you love the wines of St Veran & Pouilly Fuisse you should try this."
- Wine Direct Tasting Team
"The basic Chardonnay at Koehler-Ruprecht, which is classically vinified here as a dry Kabinett, but bottled without a site designation, as we have parts from the Annaberg in here, but also grapes from other sites. Matured in large, used wood. Always goes well on any occasion and is characterized by its virtually unbeatable price-pleasure ratio. Juicy yellow apple and nectarine on the nose, delicate white flowers, lots of limestone. Incredibly inviting and simply gorgeous on the nose. Ripe acidity and a fine, mineral underlay of limestone on the palate. Grippy, salty minerality pervades the entire wine, but the juicy fruit plays the biggest role here. A really chic, uncomplicated and above all gastronomic Chardonnay."
- Heiner Lobenberg
“Here’s a joyful and juicy German chardonnay that’s hard to resist thanks to the very attractive sliced pear fruit and the mineral freshness that keeps it bright and straight. And it has just 12% alcohol! Drink now. Screw cap.”
— Stuart Pigott, James Suckling
The 120-year-old Annaberg vineyard and its south-facing slope of rich soils inflected with sand and chalk is perfect for the estate's unique expression of Chardonnay. After being hand-harvested, the grapes are pressed outside in the courtyard. The juices settle in stainless steel tanks and then are racked by gravity into the underground cellar's myriad of casks. The majority of which are large oak called stück, halbstück and dopplestück (1200L, 600L, 2400L). There is no temperature control in the cellar, and fermentation can take weeks or months. Malolactic fermentation is not monitored: it either happens or doesn’t. The wines stay on their lees for about eight months and a light filtration is performed before bottling.
ABV: 12%