2016 Nierstein Pettenthal Trocken

A wonderfully diverse composition of floral and herbal aromas includes nuances of buttercup, oregano, thyme and mint, to name just a few. It is a true sensory challenge to explore all the facets of this stimulating fragrance. On the palate, there is no shortage of fruit, but components such as grapefruit or peach are well integrated into a harmonious expression of flavour, in which stony minerality, fresh green mint and gentle spice get equal billing. A Grosses Gewächs whose subtlety, complexity and finesse dispense with any need for ostentatious expression. (MS)

Although this is still embryonic it has great smoke and grapefruit notes. Then comes a super-sleek and enormously mineral palate with enormous drive. Have patience and this will will reward you richly, through at least 2050, if you can wait that long. An auction wine that will be extremely limited in the secondary market.

This vintage, Keller’s wine from his lower slopes in Pettenthal – unlike that from 2015 – fermented to legal dryness and so is offered as a Grosses Gewächs (destined for auction). The startlingly penetrating nose suggests scratching the peel of tangerine and orange and breathing in smoldering peat. A glycerol-rich and expansive but in no way heavy palate is strikingly transparent to shimmeringly crystalline, stony and alkaline impingements, leading to a grippingly sustained finish to which piquancy of citrus seed adds a glow that perfectly suits its smokiness. Here is an example of how to achieve formidably concentrated phenolics without opacity or outright bitterness and without forgetting Riesling’s primary duty to refresh. Naturally, many factors make possible such an achievement, but for starters, it helps enormously that alcohol stayed below 12.5%.