Grapes and Soil:
A Tasting with Weingut Keller’s Klaus-Peter Keller

Note: Read more about Keller in the New York Times.

On Saturday, January 19, Dee Vine Wines hosted Rheinhessen wine maker, Klaus-Peter Keller for his first wine tasting in the U.S. Fans, press and wine makers took advantage of the opportunity to taste a range of Keller wines and to speak the Klaus-Peter about his philosophy and the direction of the winery. The wines were impressive across the board and Klaus-Peter’s obvious passion only heightened the mood.

The tasting commenced with a wine not yet seen on these shores, the 2005 Dalsheimer Burgel Spätburgunder “Felix” Grosses Gewächs. What a wine! Klaus-Peter apprenticed in Gevrey-Chambertin in the mid 90s and this wine owes more to Burgundy than to any Spätburgunder I have tasted. Alluringly ripe black cherry and earthy notes lured me to the expansive palate of red fruit, spice, firm tannin and dancing acidity. Because Aubert de Villaine of Domaine de la Romanée Conti is a fan of Weingut Keller, the 2007 Burgel is currently aging in 1 year old Romanée Conti barrels. As soon as I tasted the 2005 Pinot Noir, I wanted to sequester it and explore its pleasures at my leisure. However, more treasures waited.

Sipping the 2006 Riesling QbA "von der Fels" confirmed my belief that this is a great choice for a house wine. Meaning “from the rocks”, von der Fels always displays a floral nose with a dry and remarkably minerally palate. Oyster season is upon us and the limestone soils on which the grapes for this wine are grown make this QbA the perfect partner for bi-valves.
$28/750ml

Next up, a pair of Grosses Gewächs dazzled tasters. Grosses Gewächs wines, Germany's homage to dry wine and their best sources, the officially recognized "first growth" vineyards, can too often have high alcohol, unharmonious acidity and a bitter finish. Keller's dry wines are never overwrought and shine with finesse. Kirchspiel and Hubacker are excellent ambassadors for the dry style of German wines. Belonging to the Keller family since 1789, Hubacker is a gentle 20-25% south-eastern facing slope with yellow limestone in the subsoil and more or less heavy clay on the top soil. Vines were planted 1975 and 1996. Kirchspiel’s soil is slightly red from iron oxides, with a topsoil of 30-40cm clay on yellow and red limestone. People often ask me what the differences are between the two wines. So, I asked Klaus-Peter. Essentially while Hubacker is more opulent and expressive, Kirchspiel is leaner and more focused, also requiring more time to mature. Hubacker oozes out of the glass with exotic tropical fruits. Kirchspiel is more floral and is reminiscent of a spring rain falling on a mountain meadow. Each will have its own fans.
2006 Keller Dalsheimer Hubacker Grosses Gewachs $69/750ml, $145/1.5L TZ91 JR18.5
2006 Keller Westhofen Kirchspiel Grosses Gewachs $54/750ml, $115/1.5L TZ91 JR19.5

2004 and 2003 Dalsheimer Hubacker Spätlese Goldkapsel #26 started the sweet wine lineup. Keller produces the #26 Goldkaspel in vintages when a special selection for Spätlese is merited and always in small quantities. They are always exceptional! Other years, like in 2005, the Hubacker grapes for this selection are kept for the luscious *** Auslese, a veritable BA. Already in a rich style, the freakishly warm vintage of 2003 produced a tremendous Hubacker Spätlese. While corpulent, the 2003 nonetheless shows the characteristics of the vineyard. The 2004 was Joe’s favorite of the tasting. “Passionfruit! Passionfruit!”, Joe exclaimed, bursting through the office door. Precise and almost suggestive of a dry wine, the 2004 is going to be long lived. This pairing expressed perfectly Keller’s mastery of Dalsheimer Hubacker and how transparent Riesling is to vintage and soil.
2004 Weingut Keller Dalsheimer Hubacker Spätlese Goldkapsel #26 $48/750ml WS91 TZ92
2003 Weingut Keller Dalsheimer Hubacker Spätlese Goldkapsel #26 $41/750ml

The next pairing contained one of my desert island wines, the 2006 Westhofen Kirchspiel Spätlese Goldkapsel. While wine writers wax enthusiastic over the 2005 vintage, the more wines I taste from 2006, Spätlese and above, the more I am convinced it is a more interesting vintage. Whereas the 2005 Westhofen Kirchspiel Spätlese Goldkapsel verges on dessert wine sweetness and would pair magically with an apricot tart, the 2006 is a friendlier food wine. With more apparent acidity, the 2006 is just as opulent but more focused at the same time setting up an interesting dynamic interplay of sweetness, acidity and minerality.
2006 Westhofen Kirchspiel Spätlese Goldkapsel $50/750ml TZ88
2005 Westhofen Kirchspiel Spätlese Goldkapsel $41/750ml TZ91

A break from Riesling gave us the opportunity to show the most popular wine at the tasting, the 2005 Weingut Keller Monsheimer Silberberg Rieslaner Auslese. Klaus-Peter says of this elixir, “Rieslaner was the favorite variety of my mother and also of my wife Julia who apprenticed at Müller-Catoir in the Pfalz. Robert Weil in the Rheingau is also a big fan of this variety. The nearly 50 year old vineyard has tiny yields of around 1-1.5 tons/ha. Quality on this red pebble soil is fantastic nearly every year. Very small grapes, beautiful exotic flavours, and crisp elegance are typical of site and variety. Only 50 ha are planted with Rieslaner in Germany right now as this variety is very difficult to handle, we call it a ‘launische Diva’”. Incredibly concentrated and showing baked apple on the honeyed palate, this wine is a glimpse of heaven with tart tatín.
2005 Weingut Keller Monsheimer Silberberg Rieslaner Auslese $26/375ml

Last up was a vertical, 2006-2004, of Dalsheimer Hubacker Auslese ***. Tasters were almost delirious with pleasure at this point. Each of these Auslesen has its individual strengths. All of them display the hallmark Hubacker flavors; flavors you might have tasted if you have spent any time on a beach in a tropical environment. The 2004 showed bright acidity which was in harmonious balance with the sweetness one expects from a 3 star Auslese. 2005 was rounder and the 2006 could barely be contained in my glass.
2006 Dalsheimer Hubacker Auslese *** $88/375ml TZ92
2005 Dalsheimer Hubacker Auslese *** $74/375ml TZ94
2004 Dalsheimer Hubacker Auslese *** $79/375ml WS94 TZ95

Also tasted and like the Burgel Pinot Noir, not on the official tasting list, were 2 barrel samples: 2007 Westhofen Kirchspiel Spätlese (Goldkapsel?) and 2007 Monsheimer Silberberg Rieslaner Beerenauslese. Lastly, Klaus-Peter graciously provided a bottle of the 2006 Monsheimer Silberberg Rieslaner Beerenauslese Auction wine, which we are offering at presell - $255/375ml! This was my mom’s favorite wine (she claims not to be a wine expert). Chris, our warehouse guy, feels that this was the strongest lineup of wines we have ever shown at Dee Vine Wines. I am inclined to agree.
2006 Monsheimer Silberberg Rieslaner Beerenauslese Auction $255/375ml (March arrival)

10% discount on 12 bottles or more (mix or match).
TZ Stephen Tanzer International Wine Cellar
JR Jancis Robinson (scores are out of a possible 20)
WS Wine Spectator

Thirstily,
Otto

For retail questions and orders, to RSVP to tasting events, and for more information about our wine clubs, please email otto@dvw.com.