2018 Keller Dalsheimer Burgel Spätburgunder Grosses Gewachs
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Tasting notes
Prominently pit-inflected plum and cherry are accompanied on the nose by faint smokiness, then saturate the palate, where a flatteringly silken texture prevails. Shrubby suggestions of boxwood and rosemary further accent a strongly pit-inflected, lingering finish in which, interestingly, the tactile sense of chalky suffusion so prominent in the corresponding “Reserve” bottling is absent, though the texture is that much more alluringly suave. Here we have instead more a sense of transparency to subtly stony nuances.
Critic scores
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Keller's 2018 Bürgel Spätburgunder GG is a fascinating Burgundian Pinot with a dark and spicy, very elegant and refined yet deep, concentrated and mineral bouquet with some underwood notes. Silky textured, highly finessed and again with some horse stable notes on the palate, this is a tightly structured, very intense and sustainable Pinot with great finesse and an incredibly long, compact and tensioned finish. There is an Islay Whisky (or iodine) note on the finish. Even though the wine is still shy and closed, this is a fantastic Pinot Noir from Germany and by far the best I have tasted from KPK so far (yet I have to admit I missed the 2017). Grand Cru level for sure. Tasted in Wiesbaden in August 2020 next to Huber and with Fürst's incredibly good Hundsrück in mind.
35% stems. Barrel sample. Likely to be 12.5–13%. This will be taken out of the cask in the first week of March and bottled in April. Cask sample. Bright mid-cherry red, gleaming with health. Pure, zesty, red fruits, raspberry, cranberry and just a hint of the stems. Lifted on the nose but not stemmy in that strong herbal way that can dominate. Sweet-fruited and delicate on the palate, remarkably persistent for a wine of such textural delicacy and overall finesse. Smooth, very gently chewy. Wonderful fruit purity. (JH)
About the producer
Based in the Rheinhessen, Keller is one of the finest Riesling producers in the world, and has set the benchmark for German Pinot Noir.