KELLER 2014 RIESLING WESTHOFEN ABTSERDE GG GROSSES GEWACHS 750ML

ANTONIO GALLONI - VINOUS - 96 POINTS Marine-breeze alkaline and saline notes, black tea smokiness and a hints of framboise distillate penetrate the nostrils, and the mineral complexity that follows on the polished, expansive (even at 12.8% alcohol), remarkably buoyant palate does not disappoint the expectations aroused by the nose. At the same time, there is an infectious abundance of white peach, grapefruit and red raspberry juiciness on tap, invigoratingly accented by piquant but never outright bitter pits and pips along with tart, seed-crunching impingement. A finish of vibratory intensity and consummate refreshment left me exhilarated and panting after the next fascinating, sensuously satisfying sip. Keller calls this the butterfly among his Grosse Gewächse and attributes the jump in quality that it typically represents in tasting that line-up to the stony purity and rapid drainage of the site’s limestone soils. There’s something approaching magic here, that’s for sure!

WINE ADVOCATE 95 POINTS Kept for 40 hours on the skins, Keller's always very low-yielding 2014 Westhofener Brunnenhauschen Abtserde Riesling Grosses Gewachs is sharp and precise on the nose like a laser sword cutting through a chalky rock, leaving dust and grated lemon skins. Coming from a vineyard with high active chalk in the soil, this wine is medium to full-bodied, very pure, elegant, and full of energy and concentration; it is piquant, precise and provided with a straight, super long and tension-filled finish with stimulatingly juicy fruit in the persistent aftertaste. This is great dry Riesling from a difficult year, which was, however, not that difficult in the Abtserde (a special plot inside the Brunnenhäuschen). Due to regularly poor fruit sets (coulure), the grapes are never that compact; the grapes consist partly of extremely small and seedless berries, which might explain the intensity of Keller's Abtserde. Generally, this is a great advantage in misty autumns like in 2014, because the wind dries the berries quickly and keeps them healthy. I recommend to drink the Abtserde from Zalto's Burgundy glasses, which bring out the chalky/salty character even better than the Universal glass from which I tasted the wine.