German Catalog 2006 USE THIS ONE.qxp - Michael Skurnik Wines

heribert kerpen
mosel • wehlen
Everyone in Wehlen stands to some extent in the shadow of Manfred Prüm, yet I don’t really see
anyone trying to emulate the style. There are good wineries making splendidly steely-mineral
wines — you know who they are — and then there is Kerpen, who stands stylistically off to the
side. The wines, in fact, resemble Selbach’s more than any neighbors in Wehlen; verdant, shady,
woodsy, vinous, mid-palate density, lots of soul.
Martin Kerpen has been variously described as “gentle” and “modest,” but he seems to
know quite well how good his wines are and to feel the appropriate pride. He is very funny and
he loves to laugh. He is the most genial of hosts, and he wife Celia is a substantive and lovely
woman with whom I always wish I had more time to talk. They lay a bountiful and happy table.
Some of what’s happened at Kerpen reveals the prosaic
truths which lie beneath much wine romance. The
quality of his wines improved significantly when Martin
bought his new house along the Mosel, and completed the
cellar. He used to have to make the wines in weeny widdle
crannies in several different locations; now he’s not only all
under one roof but he’s got ample space besides.
So tell us, Martin, how is it done? “I don’t know,
exactly! You have to work clean. My wife wishes I were as
clean in the house as I am in the cellar. Your quality is
70% the vineyard,
25% the cellar. The
other 5% is luck.” I
would agree, but the
proportion of luck can
be (and has been)
diminished by the
most stringent possible
selection in the
vineyard. Martin likes
clear-tasting wine,
therefore he labors to
make clear-tasting
wine. Some have said
that he makes wine in
his own image —
Martin is a tall, wiry sort of fellow — I said it too, but I’ve
changed my mind. His wines are sleek (and long!) enough,
but what impresses me most about them is the multi-layered
depth beneath all that finesse. It’s an almost magical
mingling of super-fine clarity with a remarkable chordal
richness that takes the wines from very good to great.
These are wines towards which you feel both admiration
and tenderness; they are dear, winning wines. They needn’t
strain to be great wines; their beauty is their beauty.
•Vineyard area: 5 hectares
•Annual production: 3,400 cases
•Top sites: Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Graacher
Domprobst and Himmelreich, Bernkasteler
Bratenhöfchen
•Soil types: Devonian slate
•Grape varieties: 100% Riesling
Martin’s made his second outstanding vintage in a
row; his `05s are remarkably limpid and charming for
wines of such density, and his dessert wines have never
been better.
Martin Kerpen
65
MOSEL WINES