2014 Keller, G-Max, Rheinhessen

Vinous

This leads with surprisingly but by no means unpleasantly herbal and weedy aromatic intensity allied to peat-like smokiness, chalk dust and penetratingly high-toned suggestions of cassis and sloe berry distillate. “I am not for the faint of heart!” it seems to be warning. “It smells like the soil of the site,” insists Keller. The expansive, subtly silky palate is lush but bright, with the herbal pungency and dark berry piquancy that were signaled in the nose embedded in a diverse matrix of white peach, lime and turnip. The finish here nearly explodes with mouth-shaking energy, conveying wild herbal intensity, chalky impingements and a smoldering, peaty underlying earthiness, without losing focus or neglecting its obligation to refresh as well as enliven.