2016 Keller Frauenberg Spatburgunder Grosses Gewachs
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Tasting notes
Red and black currants are accented by coriander seed and marine mineral notes on the nose. Purity and tenderness of fruit reign midpalate, along with a subtle but seductively silken texture, yet without sacrificing bright, invigoratingly seed-tinged juiciness. Bittersweet iris and gentian perfume adds to the wine’s alluring complexity. The impressively sustained finish delivers striking purity of fruit, lift, perfume and a salinity that activates the salivary glands. With the tiny clusters and berries he gets from this vineyard’s sélection massale vines, Keller has long tended to include a significant share of stems and intact berries in the ferment, an approach that no doubt helps account for – or, at least, reinforce – the floral notes found in his Frauenberg bottlings. Recently, he and his team have begun surgically removing the center stem from each cluster, leaving only the delicately branching stems that connect the berries. This, he opined, enhances the positive aromatic effects of stems as well as the slow release of juice that prolongs fermentation and retards alcoholic conversion. (A portion of the clusters is also being handled this way with Keller’s two other Pinot Noirs, and even with a few vintage 2017 white wines.)
Critic scores
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
David Schildknecht, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Barrel sample. 17 hl/ha, 50% 2nd-use oak, 50% 3rd use, 30% whole bunch. Vines are French mass selection. All limestone soils. ‘A winner in climate change’, says Keller – when they planted it, you could not ripen red grapes in this vineyard. Mid cherry red. A little darker than the Bürgel. A little more spice, darker fruit but still red fruit, more intense on the nose, less immediate charm. You can see the stems but they are part of the fabric and not intrusive. A little firmer than the Bürgel but while the tannins are firmer, they are velvety smooth already, al dente. A little bit of oak sweetness but this is meshed with the fruit. There’s an attractive dusty/mineral quality that I associate with limestone. Needs a little longer but should have a really long life. (JH)