A Striking Silvaner and a Solid Stopper

When last I wrote of Klaus-Peter Keller's Gruener Silvaner on these pages early this spring it was about his 2007 vintage, which I paired with simply prepared, fresh caught trout — a pretty classic pairing (even if I do say so myself). I've enjoyed the current release (2009) since then but I was surprised when hunting through my over-packed, under-organized wine closet for something to imbibe with dinner earlier this week to find a bottle of the 2006 vintage. My first thought was, "Oops, this one got away from me."

Mind you, I do realize that Silvaner can in some cases be quite age worthy. Consider Franconian Silvaners from producers such as Hans Wirsching, for example. But I've always thought of Keller's Silvaner as being intended for relative immediacy. For one, it's a basic level qualitatswein — a silly prejudice, I know, but one that's not entirely irrational. For another, it's fairly inexpensive; the current release goes for around $18, while the 2006, when it was still on the market, was closer to $15. Yeah, yeah, another silly prejudice; I do know better. And third, it's sealed with an alternative in-neck stopper, generally a pretty strong (if not universal) signal that, from the producer's perspective, the wine is meant to be drunk young.

Rheinhessen Grüner Silvaner QbA trocken, Weingut Keller 2006
$16. 12.5% alcohol. DIAM. Importer: Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.
Four years is hardly old by wine standards, but then one must bear in mind that plenty of wines out there, both white and red, start to sag, droop and develop age spots in as little as one or two cycles of the calendar. I didn't think it unreasonable to expect Keller's '06 Silvaner to have slipped into that kind of decline. And I was pleased to be proven wrong.

Certainly, there's been some development. The wine now shows yellow tones in the glass, darker than its hay-tinted mineral water appearance in youth. It's also taken on some richness, both of aroma and flavor, curving much more into the Riesling-esque end of the spectrum than when young; less forthright pear fruit and salinity, more dark minerality, truffle, and citrus oil characteristics. Still, though, it remains completely vital. What surprised me most was that the element of residual carbon dioxide, so typical of the wine in its youthful stage, still had not dissipated; morphed, yes, but completely dissolved, no. Rather than a refreshing prickle on the first touch, that CO2 now expressed itself via a sense of active energy, like a wave breaking gently across the rear palate. Now I'm left wondering how it would be another year or two down the road. Alas, as is so often the case in such scenarios, this was my last bottle....

On a related note, the alternative closure I referred to above was a DIAM. As I've mentioned here in the past, the DIAM is my favorite of the alternative in-neck stoppers on today's market. Again, while four years is hardly old by wine standards, at three-and-a-half years in bottle, this might be the longest "under-cork" DIAM sealed wine I've yet had the opportunity to sample. As should be obvious from the above note, the experience was a positive one. The stopper itself was in good shape and had not — at least not to my palate — imparted any discernible flavor to the wine, something I can't say for the various plastic/polymer closures currently in use. Also, though I have heard of a report or two from others, I've still yet to encounter a TCA-tainted wine sealed under DIAM.

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TDF 2010 Prologue: Rotterdam

It's 9:00 PM here on the East Coast. It's tomorrow in France. I'm just now sitting down to watch the prime time coverage of today's Tour de France prologue. Don't tell me who won, please. I still don't know. For years now, I've struggled not to learn the results until I've had a chance to actually watch the race. Such is my situation at the moment.

So, for tonight you'll just get a teaser of a post. It's actually rather fitting, as the prologue essentially serves as the amuse bouche of the Tour, the appetizer before the twenty course meal to follow.


This year's course, through inner-city Rotterdam (click on the map above for an enlarged view of the course), is long by prologue standards at just under 9km. It's rare that the prologue has proved to be a meaningful stage in the overall picture but it's still an incredibly prestigious stage. It's a chance for the fast men, the bike handlers, the powerhouses and the anaerobic performers to stencil their names into the list of stage winners. More importantly, it's a chance, in just a few minutes, to stake an early claim to the leader's yellow jersey. The maillot jaune. The symbol, almost universally recognized now, of Tour leadership.

I don't know the results yet, but I have watched enough to know that the conditions for a fast, technical stage like this are far from ideal. Rain. Inner city streets. Oil. Painted stripes and sharp corners. A recipe for road rash and disappointing finishing times. All of that said, my call for the stage still goes out to Fabian Cancellara, one of the true strong men of the professional peloton who's made a specialty of stages like this over the last several years. Time has already told, but I will see over the course of the next hour or so....

In the coming days, I hope to provide content that covers both the Tour and the wine and food culture of the areas through which it passes. For today, not so much. Remember, this is just a teaser stage. I could tell you that Rotterdam is one of the ten largest cities in Europe. But I've never been there....

So I'd rather tell you that I celebrated the opening of the race with friends over dinner tonight at an excellent little Japanese restaurant, Masamoto, in the strip mall suburbs of the Brandywine Valley. A pair of 2007's – Keller's Westhofener Kirchspiel Riesling Spätlese "R" and François Chidaine's Montlouis "Les Tuffeaux" – provided most excellent pairing experiences.

And I'll tell you that in the days to come there will be much, much more action. So, thanks as always for reading, for watching, and for not telling me who won.

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Silvaner Season

Trout fishing season opened today in Southeastern PA. My buddy Pete was first in line at his favorite local water hole, and the last man standing at the end of the day with not a single flippy fish to his line's credit. His friend's shared their loot though, and, magnanimous guy that he is, he shared it in turn.

So... dinner tonight: fresh caught trout, cleaned and butterflied (by Pete's buddies, I might add — I didn't even have to do the dirty work), stuffed with a couple of slices of lemon, a few sprigs of thyme, sprinkled with salt and pepper, brushed with olive oil and cooked outside on the grill. A side of slivered, sautéed Brussels sprouts. And a bottle of wine.

My first thought had gone to a Kabinett trocken or halbtrocken Riesling from Weingut Ratzenberger, partly as a tip of the hat to my day's monger, who visited Ratzenberger during a trip to Germany for Oktoberfest last fall, and partly because the wines are simply ideal with the clean, delicate flavors of stream fish. But then my thought went to a bottle that had been standing in wait in my fridge for far too long, just waiting for the proper meal that would summon it to its final reckoning.

Rheinhessen Grüner Silvaner, Weingut Keller 2007
$16. 12% alcohol. DIAM. Importer: Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.
The yeastiness that often accompanies Keller's Silvaner in the months after release has shed its veil, revealing a wine still in the full stride of freshness, perfect for spring drinking. Crackling with acidity, dripping limey minerality and still sporting a light prickle of CO2. And yes, it tasted as good as it felt — full of white floral aromas, crisp green pear fruit and nuanced with a whiff of mace-like spiciness. Like Chablis on happy pills. Or for those of you that prefer a more concrete, pears-to-pears comparison, not nearly so fleshy and rich as Wittmann's Silvaner, but just as equally rewarding in its own right.

Thanks for sharing, Pete!

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Cooking up the Ramp Romp

After our ramp foraging excursion a few days back, a little bit – actually, a lot – of cooking was in order. What didn’t go into scrambled eggs or into the pickling jar was whipped up at the main event, courtesy of Chef Bill.

Smoked Salmon and Ramp Bruschetta

Really delicious; I could have made a meal of these and been perfectly happy. Nothing more than lightly grilled baguette slices, brushed with a dab of olive oil and topped with Talula’s smoked salmon and sautéed ramps. Washed down well with bubbles and Rheinwein.


Crémant d’Alsace Brut, Domaine Barmès-Buecher 2007
$18. 12.5% alcohol. Cork. Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.
The exuberant ripeness of François Barmès’ fruit shows through in the forward nature of his ’07 Crémant d’Alsace. It’s drinking well now that it’s had a chance to settle into itself and shows the potential to develop interest with a couple of years in the bottle. Simultaneously crunchy and creamy, with pear, apple and guanabana on the palate and youthful, primary yeast aromatics.

Rheinhessen Riesling Kabinett “Limestone,” Weingut Keller 2006
$32. 7.5% alcohol. Cork. Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.
The weight and concentration of a Spätlese combine with the slightly lower than usual acidity of the 2006 vintage to make for quite an opulent Kabinett. Keller’s trademark crystalline minerality is still lurking in the background though, helping to keep the mouthfeel lively. Its fruit attack borders on the tropical, with key lime and guava playing nicely with flavors of ripe white peaches. This is fruit from Westhofener Kirchspiel, labeled much as with “von der Fels” to brand Klaus-Peter Keller’s focus on limestone driven terroir.

Spaghetti “Ramp-o-nara”

Yep, that’s my name for it. Laugh all you want…. This was a neat play on Italian and down home Southern cooking techniques. The ramps were sautéed in bacon drippings, the pan deglazed with white wine and chicken stock to form a “sauce,” then everything, bacon and all, tossed with the pasta. Really great depth of flavor. Premier Cru red Burgundy was hardly a traditional pairing but the smokiness in the flavor profile of both of the following wines made it work.


Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru Les Duresses, Domaine Diconne (Christophe Diconne) 2005
$32. 13% alcohol. Cork. Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.
Vigorous, even masculine expression of a wine defined in most vintages more by its delicacy than its structure. Brambly black cherry fruit with spicy, smoky nuances. Well balanced, its acidity and tannins are beginning to find their center, just starting to gel and harmonize. Quite tasty now if very young, this is showing every bit the promise that led me to stash away a few bottles on release. A fine value in ’05 red Burg.

Volnay Premier Cru Santenots, Robert Ampeau et Fils 1993
$70. 13% alcohol. Cork. Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.
The best of many bottles of this vintage I’ve tasted over the last couple of years. Medium-red with amber and rose petal notes around the rim, this is in that great spot where primary fruit is still evident but tertiary bottle bouquet is in full bloom. You could feel the wine’s age coming on but still sense its vitality; it was surprisingly firm, almost muscular in texture. A solid core of wild red forest fruits was surrounded by scents and flavors of clove, tar, smoke, leather and anise seed. This is a current release, by the way.


Pan-roasted Halibut Cheeks with Butter-braised Ramps

I’d never had halibut cheeks before; their texture reminded me of skate but meatier. A really nice foil to the butter enriched ramps – and to a youngster from Rioja.

Rioja Crianza Blanco “Viña Gravonia,” R. Lopez de Heredia 1998
$28. 12% alcohol. Cork. Polaner Selections, Mt. Kisco, NY.
The wine world would be such a safer place to play if more producers cellared their wines and released them when ready to drink rather than on a fixed marketing schedule. Both Ampeau and Lopez de Heredia do just that. Of course it’s an expensive business practice, which makes it all the more surreal that a wine of this age and quality that’s been cared for so well – not to mentioned aged in cask for four years before bottling – can still be purchased in the mid-$20s. Much like the Ampeau, this is showing lovely development but also plenty of potential for further growth. Golden, sunbathed fruit, waxy texture and blanched almonds. It really brought out the savory, oceanic essence of the fish, its pure essence – about all one can ask for in a food and wine match. (It's also the full answer to Wednesday's "Name That Wine" post.)

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For No Particular Reason

Ever have one of those nights when you just feel like getting together with friends and opening up a few interesting bottles?

Rheinhessen Riesling trocken “Von der Fels,” Keller 2002
$20 on release. 12% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.
I’m pretty sure 2002 was the first release of Keller’s “Von der Fels” (“From the Rocks”). Even though I have only a couple of bottles, I felt it was about time to check in on one. I’m glad I did as it’s in a really good place right now, just starting to bridge into the development of some tertiary characteristics. Very fresh and prickly, still showing some residual carbon dioxide when first opened. It quickly rounded out and took on depth and richness with aeration. White peaches laced with lime zest, orange oil and honeysuckle hit the front palate, while a touch of oiliness and salinity follow. This is bone dry but completely physiologically ripe Riesling, loaded with palate staining fruit that shoots sparks across your tongue. With yet more air, rainier cherry fruit and intensely concentrated, almost sour minerality develop. Tremendous length. Lovely wine.


Arbois Pupillin Chardonnay, Emmanuel Houillon (Pierre Overnoy) 2006
$28. 12.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Louis/Dressner, New York, NY.
This showed big time sulfur/struck match aromas when first opened. After a quick and vigorous decant, it became clear that the wine was in a pretty severely reduced state. It showed much better on the palate, though, where I initially found flavors of apple cider and an element that reminded me of Junmai Daiginjo sake. Coming back to it fifteen minutes later, the nose was still full of totally reductive funk. But the wine had gotten even tastier, showing ripe red apple fruit and notes of cinnamon dusted pastry dough. I still had a hard time getting past its nose. Maybe it’s just too young yet, or needs a few hours (or days?) in the decanter.

In the context of my recent posting on wine naming conventions, how does one handle Houillon’s wines? All the bottles name Monsieur Houillon, while one bottle makes no mention of Overnoy, one names Pierre Overnoy and another is labeled as Maison Pierre Overnoy. Meanwhile, there is no visible differentiation in appellation or wine name from bottling to bottling; technically they are all just called Arbois Pupillin. Only different colors of sealing wax (not pictured), used in place of capsules, seem to differentiate one cuvée from the next: pale yellow for the Chardonnay, marigold for the Savagnin and red for the Poulsard.


The de rigueur shot of orange wine, sharing the counter with a Baltimore icon.

We never quite got around to opening Houillon’s Poulsard. But his 2004 Savagnin (the orange wine in the above photo), which had already been open for at least three or four days, was still quite interesting, offering up a nose full of Manzanilla and candy corn aromatics, finished off with tongue-twisting, gripping acidity.


Nahe Monzinger Frühlingsplätzchen Riesling Kabinett trocken, Emrich-Schönleber 2001
$15 on release. 11.5% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.
Our brief detour into the Arbois didn’t prevent us from taking pleasure in trying this alongside the Keller. The eye alone, given its deeper golden appearance, was enough to show that this has traveled further along its path of development. But it still has plenty of stuffing and potential. Can there be such a thing as hedonistic Kabinett trocken? This would seem to suggest so, as it offered up voluptuous scents and flavors of clove-poached pears, fresh baked apple pie a la mode and peach cobbler. Did I mention that this is completely dry? And that it paired seamlessly with saba (mackerel sushi)?

This bottling doesn’t exist in the Schönlebers’ lineup any longer, replaced along with their other dry Kabinetts by the non-Pradikat “Mineral.” And wines at the quality level of this and “Von der Fels” no longer exist at these price points ($15 and $20, respectively). Can you hear that? It’s the sound of my teardrops hitting the floor.


Barolo “Cerretta,” Germano Ettore (Sergio Germano) 2000
$50. 14% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.
Though showing just the slightest hint of its alcohol on the nose, this is nonetheless in a fine place right now. It’s still quite youthful in the fruit department but is soft, round, exotically spicy and sweetly scented. Enjoyably pondering a glass, I was struck with the thought that I’m not sure there’s any vine that takes to oak quite so well as does Nebbiolo. I find the aromatic fireworks that result when it’s done right really hard to beat. Here, it results in classic oak-derived spiciness and warm red floral aromas and scents of rooibos tea intertwined with red licorice and sassafras. The 2000 may lack the acid/tannin profile of a more classic Piedmontese vintage but firm, well-balanced grip still presents itself on the finish.

Ever think of pairing Barolo with chocolate? Don't. On the other hand, this worked surprisingly well with Peking duck, perhaps helped along by the rich fruit and soft texture typical to the 2000 vintage.


Gevrey-Chambertin, Sylvie Esmonin 2005
$60. 13% alcohol. Cork. Importer: Louis/Dressner, New York, NY.
A bit clumsy right out of the gate, the sweet red fruit immediacy of Sylvie Esmonin’s Gevrey was marred at first by slightly disjointed alcohol. It didn’t take long for its grace to emerge, though. Definitely lots of red fruit, both fresh and caramelized. A campfire set in a forest clearing on a nippy fall day comes to mind, not through any overtly reductive characteristics, just through the wine’s overall expression of brambly fruit and energy. Esmonin gets her knocks from some quarters for the concentrated, forward nature of her wines but I dig them. This has a wonderfully barky, sinewy character that helps to back up its boisterous, spicy red fruit. It’s slightly lean yet sappy and generous all at once, topped off with a beguiling nose of sandalwood. I would have guessed, as did Bill Nanson at Burgundy Report, this sees some stems in the vat but Dressner’s page on Esmonin says not.

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Old World Riesling for WBW #45

Call it cheating if you will. I prefer to think of it as synchronicity. Today’s edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday, hosted by Tim Elliott at Winecast, follows just one day after my class on German wines at Tria Fermentation School. And this month’s theme – Old World Riesling – falls right into the core of last night’s curriculum. So, as much as I was tempted to go for the relatively obscure and track down an Italian Riesling or two, it seems much more appropriate to answer the call of chance and write up the German Rieslings that I selected for yesterday’s course.

My objective for the class was to showcase the diversity of wine styles, vines and regions of Germany, and to provide a basic foundation for understanding the terminology found on German labels as well as the regulations that govern and influence contemporary German viticulture. All, mind you, within the context of a 90-minute class. We started off with a Spätburguner from the Mittelrhein, a Rheinpfalz Weißer Burgunder and a Scheurebe from Baden. The rest of the evening was spent exploring the beauty of what I consider to be the world’s most noble white vine – Riesling – grown in the country where it reaches its pinnacle of quality and expression.

Monzinger Frühlingsplätzchen Riesling Kabinett trocken, Weingut Emrich-Schönleber 2006
Werner Schönleber and his son Frank are widely considered to be, along with Dönnhoff, at the top of the game in the Nahe. In recent years, the portfolio of wines they produce has been in constant evolution. At the dry and off-dry ends of the spectrum, they’ve been reducing their number of bottlings and instead focusing on fewer but stronger statements about the terroir of their two estate vineyards: Halenberg and Frühlingsplätzchen. The Kabinett and Spätlese halbtrockens from both vineyards, as well as their basic QbA halbtrocken, already went by the wayside a few years back, replaced by a single wine called “Lenz” (archaic German for Spring). And it appears that 2006 was the last vintage for this, the Kabinett trocken from Frühlingsplätzchen. Going forward, at least for now, they’ll continue to produce their basic QbA trocken, adding a trocken wine called “Mineral” and further consolidating their vineyard designated dry Rieslings. The Pradikat (Kabinett, Spätlese), and presumably the QmP designation, will be dropped and they will produce Frühlingsplätzchen Riesling trocken and Halenberg Riesling trocken. Großes Gewächs wines will continue to be produced from both vineyards, vintage conditions allowing. Confused yet? Or beginning to understand the challenge of cramming an overview of German wines into an hour-and-a-half?

Now, on to the tasting note: this was the most challenging wine of the night, as it is clamped pretty tightly shut at the moment. Lots of lemon zest and grapefruit, along with bright, tingly minerality and a hint of green apples, are carried on a bone dry frame. High acidity is at the forefront, decidedly making this a wine for the dinner table – or for holding for a couple of years. Experience with past vintages has shown this cuvée to evolve positively with a few years in the cellar, unfurling to show broader texture and finer balance. However, the 2006 may be a bit narrower than other recent vintages. $28. 12% alcohol. Natural cork. Importer: Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.

Riesling trocken “von der Fels,” Weingut Keller 2006
This was one of two non-QmP wines and the only wine from the Rheinhessen included in the lineup. Keller and Schönleber are both members of the Verband Deutscher Prädikats (VdP), a quality, peer-based organization that’s focused on changing the German wine laws of 1971 and returning to the importance of site. Its members are simultaneously working within the QmP system and selectively eschewing its definitions and its prioritization of ripeness levels over vineyard sites. “von der Fels” – literally, from the rocks – is Klaus-Peter Keller’s statement name for this wine, which is meant to reflect the limestone rich terroir which he seeks out and farms. It is a selection of fruit from the lower slopes of all four of his Großes Gewächs (great growth, Grand Cru) vineyard sites, generally harvested at ripeness levels equating to Spätlese. It is fermented to dryness and labeled simply as Riesling trocken, along with Keller’s “von der Fels” designation.

In contrast to the Kabinett trocken from Schönleber, Klaus-Peter’s 2006 “von der Fels” is all about generous fruit and round, polished texture. Partly, that stems from the wine’s greater degree of ripeness. There’s also a difference in terroir at work, as Keller’s flatter vineyard and slightly warmer setting yield consistently different textures than wines from the steep slopes in the Nahe. But my mouth tells me there’s something else at work: a subtle touch of sweetness. This year’s iteration of “von der Fels” would seem to run toward the upper half of the trocken scale, which allows for up to nine grams of residual sugar per liter. Peach, golden apples and unmistakably limey minerality abound, supported by medium-acidity and some serious flesh on the palate. Nice long finish, too. $30. 12.5% alcohol. Natural cork. Importer: Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.

Bacharacher Kloster Fürstental Riesling Sekt Brut, Weingut Ratzenberger 2003
This is the other non-QmP wine of the night and the one and only sparkling wine. I waffled with where to place it in the progression, considering it as an aperitif, as the first Riesling and even in the final position, as a palate cleanup hitter so to speak. I finally opted to slot it in between the dry and fruity/noble style Rieslings, as a wake-up call and to demonstrate another element of Riesling’s versatility. Jochen Ratzenberger is also a member of the VdP. His Sekt is a long standing favorite of mine. It’s made in the Méthode Traditionelle – Traditionelle Flaschengärung in German – and entirely by hand, right down to the remuage. Many of the bottles bear a brushstroke of white paint in the punt, a marker used by Ratzenberger to remember where he left off when called away from his duties as riddler.

2003 was a hot year, even in this normally chilly area of the Mittelrhein around the town of Bacharach. The extra degree of ripeness fostered by the growing season shows, as this is richer, riper and creamier in flavor and texture than in typical years. That doesn’t stop it from being terribly tasty. It’s also more intensely fruity, less noticeably yeasty than in cooler vintages. Yet it’s still a great food wine, though I might be more inclined to pair it with a richer, mid-meal course rather than serving it with more delicate dishes. A fine mousse lights up its medium-golden color. Peaches and cream, a hint of apricot and slate spiciness linger, buoyed by medium acid and fine balance. The down side is the dollar. This baby’s price is up over 25% since the previous vintage. $32. 13% alcohol. Natural cork. Importer: Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.

Kanzemer Altenberg Riesling Spätlese “Lot 1902,” Weingut Johann Peter Reinert 2001
If the Kabinett trocken from Schönleber was the most difficult wine of the night, this just may have been the biggest “Wow!” wine of the night. Classic, fruity style Saar Riesling. Low alcohol, totally delicate and graceful, yet profound in its depth of flavor. White peaches, baked apples, mace and an intense slate minerality all last for ages on the palate. It was the nose, though, that first got everyone’s attention, redolent of the bouquet that comes to German Rieslings, particularly from the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, only with age. Call it what you will – diesel, kerosene, petrol – but, combined with the wine’s beautiful fruit and nervy acidity, it makes for an intoxicating little package. I’d pour it as an aperitif just as happily as I’d pair it with poached salmon or pan seared scallops. Reinert, a member of the Bernkasteller Ring (his area’s answer to the VdP), makes some great, unknown and underappreciated Rieslings, in dry, off-dry, fruity and nobly sweet styles. This Spätlese should continue to develop in interest for at least another decade and then hold steady for another. At its price, it would be more than worth stowing away a few bottles for a rainy day. $25. 8% alcohol. Natural cork. Importer: Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.

Bacharacher Wolfshöhle Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel, Weingut Ratzenberger 1997
Even though he’s increasingly recognized as one of the best producers in the Mittelrhein – if not the best – Ratzenberger does not get the same level of global buzz as producers like Keller and Schönleber. One of the lucky side effects of that relative obscurity is that he still has some old wines to sell. And he’ll release some of them to the market, in small lots, as he feels they’re ready to be appreciated.

At a little over ten years of age, this is definitely ready to be appreciated. Jochen’s plot of the Wolfshöhle vineyard is perfectly suited to the production of Spätlesen, Auslesen and, when vintage conditions permit, Beerenauslesen and Trockenbeerenauslesen. As with many other producers, Ratzenberger uses a Goldkapsel to indicate a very special bottling, most likely a declassified Beerenauslese in this case. The tropical and musky characteristics of this Auslese – pineapple, citrus confit, orange oil, clove and mango – definitely suggest at least a moderate percentage of botrytis affected fruit. An intense flavor of apricot preserves, a signature of the Wolfshöhle terroir, is present from start to finish. 1997 was a relatively low acid year, which shows in the wine’s fairly rich, somewhat oily texture. However, its texture also has a crystalline character that, along with the wine’s racy, confectionery sweetness, helps to keep things alive in the mouth. It lacks the structure and acidity for long term aging, but it’s easy to like now. So drink. And enjoy. $40 (500ml). 8% alcohol. Natural cork. Importer: Petit Pois, Moorestown, NJ.

* * *
Related posts:

• Weingut Emrich Schönleber: Putting Monzingen on the Map
  
• Weingut Keller: Shining Star in the Rheinhessen
  
• Weingut Ratzenberger: Pearl of the Mittelrhein

Producer websites:

• Weingut Emrich Schönleber
  
• Weingut Keller
  
• Weingut Ratzenberger
  
• Weingut Johann Peter Reinert

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Turkey for Keller

Just a quick post at the end of a crazy day. Klaus Peter Keller stopped by the shop this afternoon. It was lovely to see him but that’s about all there was to it. I bought him a turkey sandwich for lunch, chatted for about 30 seconds, turned around to help a customer and, c’est tout, he was gone – no doubt off to the next stop on his whirlwind tour of the northeast corridor. I would love to have made it up to his tasting in New York tonight, not only for the chance to squeeze in another few words and taste through some of his current releases but also to catch up with a few old friends and connect with some new ones. If any of you made it to the event, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Klaus-Peter (at right) during a visit to the Rheinhessen in 2004.

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Weingut Keller: Shining Star in the Rheinhessen

February 2004. Day two of a group trek through a corner of Germany and a crescent of France. Our first of two appointments of the day was with one of the brightest new stars of German winemaking circles, Klaus Peter Keller. Accolades have come aplenty to Weingut Keller over the last several years, perhaps topped by the bestowal of the VinItaly International Award in 2002. Or perhaps they would favor father Klaus being named Best Winemaker of the Year in the 2000 edition of Gault-Millau’s Weinguide Deutschland. No matter. Suffice it to say that the Keller’s have made a big name for their estate in an area of the Rheinhessen known more for mass production and mediocrity than for top quality, small grower wines.

Flying the flag at Weingut Keller
Klaus Peter had anticipated our arrival, hanging out an American flag at the winery’s main entrance and greeting us shortly after we passed through the gates. Weingut Keller’s property consisted at that time of 12.5 hectares, spread through the villages of Dalsheim and Florsheim. As none of their better quality sites are proximal to the winery, it was right back into our vehicles for a tour through the local byways, destination vineyards. As we pulled off the main village roads onto the dirt paths that bisect the area’s fields, I was struck by the extreme contrast to the vineyards we’d clawed our way through a day earlier in the Mittelrhein. Here, steep, rocky slopes were replaced by gently undulating, topsoil laden, sun soaked hillocks. The scenery reminded me very much of the trench warfare landscapes from any number of WWI or WWII war films, just healed and grown over with rows of vines.

And those vines. Keller’s at least. I’ve never seen such precisely, uniformly pruned and trained vines. The photos I have don’t do them justice. They really did look like specimen plants, each trained low to the ground to capture the maximum of reflected sunlight and heat from the earth below. Klaus Peter feels this approach gives his wines both concentration and elegance. The terrain at the estate is dominated by rocky, limestone rich subsoil with lightly colored, slightly loamy topsoil. The limestone begins only ½ meter below the topsoil, making hard work for young vines as they try to develop their root systems. Keller helps along new plantings by providing light irrigation, a practice which is ceased across the board as soon as the vines are established and producing fruit.

Klaus-Peter (at right) giving us the lay of the land
All of the labor in the vineyards is managed by the Keller family and three apprentices. Their farming methods are as natural as the climate allows. No fertilizers are used. Vegetation is encouraged between every other row of vines to promote nitrogenation of the soil. Copper and sulfur are sprayed to prevent downy mildew. And pheromone capsules, hung strategically throughout the fields, are the only form of pest control.

A clear view of Keller's slice of the Rheinhessen
The Keller’s count four Großes Gewächs sites amongst their property: Dalsheimer Hubacker, Dalsheimer Bürgel, Westhofener Kirchspiel and Westhofener Morstein. In an area best known for the mass production of forgettable Liebfrauenmilch, this surprising density of Grand Cru ratings bestowed upon his property by the VdP is something of which Klaus Peter is keenly aware – and proud. He makes sure to capitalize upon the new vision of his terroir by maximizing his efforts in the vineyards, pruning and farming meticulously to coax the greatest potential from the fruit of his vines. And in the cellar, he polishes the wines like fine gems. Oddly though, we saw neither hide nor hair of the cellars and wine making facilities during our visit. After spending most of our time in the field, we finished with a quick whirl through the tasting room:

2003 Riesling QbA trocken
The first of the 2003 Rieslings to be finished, this was due to be bottled a week after our visit. This sample was tasted from a bottle pulled from vat earlier in the day. Very soft mouthfeel and extremely yeasty, showing simple tropical fruit on the palate. The QbA wines are produced with a combination of fruit from non-cru vineyard sites and of declassified fruit from the crus. No chaptalization was used.

2002 Riesling “Von der Fels”
Fruit from 15-30 year-old vines in several of Keller’s crus – still too young for the Großes Gewächs bottlings – has gone into “Von der Fels” since its first release in 2000. Though labeled simply as a QbA, this is essentially a non-vineyard designated Spätlese trocken, meant to be representative of the estate’s limestone rich terroir as expressed in a dry style. Lean aromatics gave way to concentrated limestone minerality with a fuller, firmer mouthfeel than in the basic QbA wines.


2002 Hubacker Riesling Großes Gewächs
The rather gothic looking rust orange labels of Keller’s grand cru bottlings are facsimiles of the old family labels which were used up to 1953. The ’02 Hubacker was muscular, spicy, and even a bit earthy, with tremendous mineral extract. Very closed at time of tasting, with loads of acidity keeping the 13% alcohol in check.

2000 Hubacker Riesling “G-Max” Großes Gewächs
Named to commemorate the birth of Klaus-Peter’s son, the 2000 was more aromatically forthcoming. Though still tasting very young, its mouthfeel had begun to round, showing orange oil and spicy earth on the palate. A very difficult vintage, with rain at harvest time. Keller explained that the purely spontaneous fermentation methods used for his Großes Gewächs can lead to extremely long fermentation times – think in terms of years – and can leave primary yeast characteristics in the flavor profile of the wines for their first 3-5 years in bottle.

2002 Dalsheimer Hubacker Riesling Spätlese
Rich fruit, candied citrus peels. Extremely well balanced. Short notes….

2003 Dalsheimer Hubacker Riesling Spätlese
Tasted from a sample bottle pulled from vat. K-P found 2003 a perfect vintage for the production of Spätlese. Big time tropical fruit, very exotic and, not surprisingly, very yeasty. Far richer and rounder than the ’02, but nonetheless showing good acid (6.5g) for a hot vintage. Elegant.


1997 Rudesheimer Berg Roseneck Riesling Auslese
This is a bit of a rarity in the Keller portfolio as it comes from a vineyard site in the Rheingau that was leased by the Keller’s only from 1996-1998, while Klaus-Peter was still in oenology school. The wine was sold only at auction. Beautiful, golden color. A nose loaded with scents of botrytis. Honeyed on the front palate with lovely minerality on the mid-palate. Flavors of fruitcake, along with some petrol hints, typical to the more slate and quartzite soils of the Rheingau.

1997 Dalsheimer Hubacker Riesling Spätlese
Very young in appearance and taste, with lively fruit accented by a hint of botrytis character (about 10% botrytis affected fruit). Minerally but not at all petrol in character, with very fine peach and lemon peel tones.

2003 Grüner Silvaner QbA trocken
Something forward and refreshing to finish the tasting. Silvaner is apparently quite the thing among German consumers. All of Keller’s Silvaner vines are at least 25 years old; they even produce a varietal Silvaner from 45 year-old grand cru vines. The 2003 showed a typically herbal nose but with riper fruit on the palate than in the previous few years. The grassiness was even more prevalent on the palate. Very fresh. Clocking in at 12.5%, higher in alcohol than the norm but still considered low for the vintage.

Klaus-Peter Keller stands at the forefront of today’s new generation of German winemakers. Though all three of the producer’s we visited during our short prelude in Germany are members of the Verband Deutscher Prädikats (VDP), Keller was by far the most forthcoming and enthusiastic in speaking of the qualifications for membership and the qualities of his estate’s Großes Gewächs wines. His mission is clearly to express vineyard sites and an overall sense of terroir in favor of the hierarchical ripeness-based system established by the 1971 German wine laws. Concurrently, one gets the sense, both through the fruit-forward nature of the wines and the presentation of the estate, that Keller keeps just as keen an eye on the development and positioning of the winery’s global brand as a new standard for the Rheinhessen.

Intro only...