Galloni über:
Sammlerbox: Keller-Kiste »Von Den Grossen Lagen«
-- Galloni: Hipping:Given the superb performance of this year’s (largely Hipping) village-level Niersteiner, Keller served me this Hipping immediately thereafter, thus emphasizing why he chose not to include fruit from the uppermost or lowest part of the slope in his Grosses Gewächs. The animating brightness and tang conveyed here by fresh lemon, tangerine and pineapple near the core – anticipated on the wine’s effusive nose – translate into consummate refreshment and mouth-shaking vibrancy. There is a remarkable sense throughout this performance of transparency to myriad aromatic as well as tactile nuances. Iris and gentian perfume, smoke, stone, green tea and sea salt all combine for a superb show and linger with haunting, mouthwatering persistence. The texture is silken and there is a sense of lift that belies the 13% alcohol indicated on the wine’s label. Impressive though this already is, I feel confident that it will prove even better with time in bottle. 96/100G-Max:Smoky, stony intensity on the nose anticipates the sense of pithy, palpably mineral-infused concentration exhibited inner-mouth. Lime and crabapple offer welcome bright, tart juiciness while staining the palate with the piquancy of their seeds – an impression reinforced by a bittersweet note of chewy almond skin. In an effort not to be outdone in vibrancy by its impressive Grosses Gewächs siblings – in particular, the Abtserde – this wine, too, shakes up the mouth as it deposits a nearly ineradicable array of smoky, stony, oily, alkaline and other, hard-to-name mineral traces. 96/100Abtserde GG:Seed-inflected Meyer lemon, iodine, chalk, fusel oil and struck flint feature on the nose. That same cast of characters reprises with almost painfully concentrated piquancy, brightness and medicinal-mineral saturation on a palpably extract-rich palate. Only after some aeration does a hint of site-typical florality emerge, in the form of bittersweet perfume backed by hothouse greenery. In keeping with a vintage 2017 trend at this address – but a trend accentuated in this instance – the finish is detonative in its vibrant conveyance of energy as well as striking in its impression of chalk and stone suffusion. But beyond that, it offers mouthwatering salinity and a virtually kaleidoscopic cycle of further, ineffable mineral impressions. 96/100Abtserde Auslese GK:This issued from the upper reaches of the Abtserde – stony and meager in topsoil – and from fruit roughly 25% botrytized. mirabelle, quince and white raisin soar from the rim of the glass. In the mouth, a satiny feel and a hint of oiliness enhance the sense of jellied and dried fruits. But as with the corresponding Spätlese and “regular” Auslese, bright animation and invigorating tactile stimulation emerge, here in the form of sizzling raw ginger and lime peel. There is an almost severe sense of concentration that translates into a gripping, nearly ineradicable finish, accompanied by vibrancy such as runs virtually throughout the vintage 2017 Keller collection, at whatever level of residual sugar. 95/100Kirchspiel:Bright lime and grapefruit are allied with a vivid impression of chalk suffusion, intimated on the nose and then featured on a silken palate. The sense of sheer extract-richness here is formidable. But whereas I tend to think of the mineral character promoted by Kirchspiel – especially in a vintage with high acidity – as conducive to severity and austerity, the texture and generous juiciness on display in this instance make for a Riesling that is infectiously approachable even at this early stage. Chalky and ashen notes lend intrigue while salinity serves for saliva-inducement on a gripping, vibrant, not to mention downright refreshing finish. (As usual, there was a small separately bottled batch of Kirchspiel that finished with higher residual sugar and which Keller marketed as 'Riesling RR.' Unfortunately, I did not get an opportunity to taste it.) 94/100Morstein:Chalk dust, Latakia tobacco, lime peel, bruised apple skin, pennyroyal and boxwood combine for a penetrating nose whose sheer intensity – not to mention some of its specifics – I can’t recall from any previous Keller Morstein. The feel is firm, and the palate veritably seethes with mineral matter while exhibiting brightly and tartly juicy fruit intensity that suggests an admixture of white currant and crabapple core. The finish grips implacably, tugging at cheeks and salivary glands alike, while delivering mouth-shaking energy and a striking impression of chalk and stone suffusion. And for all that this wine approaches hyper-concentration, it nonetheless exhibits an exhilarating sense of animation and lift while compelling the next sip. “That’s exactly how it should be,” remarked Keller. 95/100
