2017 Keller Dalsheimer Burgel Spätburgunder Grosses Gewachs
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Tasting notes
The generous, lovely nose features lightly cooked and distinctly pit-inflected cherry and purple plum tinged with cardamom, nutmeg, peat and Ceylon tea. Lightly cooked the impression of fruit conveyed on the nose may be, but on the silken-textured palate it’s brightly juicy and crisp-edged. The sense of pit piquancy projected on the nose very much carries through on the palate and into the finish. A suggestion of seedy, crunchy blackberry heightens the sense of cut and adds to the invigoration of a brightly juicy and vibrantly persistent finish mouthwateringly salt-tinged and replete with smoky and spicy nuances, albeit also displaying a hint of caramelized oak resin. This is as fine a Bürgel as I can recall.
Critic scores
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
KP Keller's 2017 Bürgel Spätburgunder GG offers beautifully fragrant, pure and fresh Pinot fruit with concentrated red berry and cherry aromas and good mineral depth on the nose, whereas there are no toasty aromas anymore, something I often found too loud in former vintages. The 2017, however, is deep and pure and fabulous in its shining fruit aromas. On the palate, this is an intense and firm, well-structured Pinot with a silky-elegant texture and fine limestone tannins. The finish is concentrated, very long and fresh, with a stimulating kick of concentrated fruits, crunchy phenols and ripe but biting tannins. It's a truly excellent wine and, if the price is realistic, a wine to buy. Tasted in Wiesbaden in August 2019.
Barrel sample. Seashell-limestone (Muschelkalk) soils, 25 hl/ha in 2017. Aged in older oak. Mid cherry. Spicy and really tangy red fruits on the nose – brightness of red fruit but not its sweetness. The aroma has the freshness of stems but is not stemmy – around 20% whole bunch in this vintage, apparently. Lightweight yet intense in its pretty, red-fruit freshness. Delicate but intense and persistent. Juicy, incredibly supple, silky already. Beautifully fragrant with the lightest of touches. Fruit sweetness appears more on the finish. Tannins are deceptively light because they still provide shape. Becoming ever-more fragrant as it opens up in the glass. Ethereal, mouth-watering and perfectly balanced. Such beauty. It might seem crazy to put a starting date of 2019 but the fruit is so lovely now, you could absolutely enjoy it in this primary phase even though it has much more to give. (JH)
About the producer
Based in the Rheinhessen, Keller is one of the finest Riesling producers in the world, and has set the benchmark for German Pinot Noir.