The Keller Winery in Dalsheim

The German superstar of the wine scene: Klaus-Peter Keller

Now also active on the Moselle

Since 2018, Klaus Peter Keller has also been cultivating ungrafted vines in the Moselle region, which is an absolute rarity as ungrafted vines have no reliable resistance to phylloxera. However, winegrower Keller, who strengthens his vines exclusively with organic fertilisers and mulch from his own organic plant waste, is doing pioneering work with this ecologically sensible method with surprisingly great success.

Here, pure trust in the work of nature is often still required. The grapes and vines are harvested by hand to ensure optimum ripeness and health.

In order to produce top wines to the highest quality criteria, the wine is also allowed to rest and work without being disturbed in its processes by too many interventions, such as repeated fining and filtering. Only natural yeasts from the vineyard are used for the must, which trigger spontaneous fermentation without the need for external yeast additives. This is why fermentation takes at least eight weeks or longer.

High-end wine - G-Max

Quality before quantity - this also applies to the Keller family when selling their exclusive German wines. In some cases, the Gmax is offered for 1800 euros and more per bottle. Due to the high demand, it is almost impossible to buy. Winegrower Keller only sells his bottles from the winery in crates, each containing 12 bottles of different wines. Each crate also contains 2 bottles of his Gmax, which used to be relatively cheap to buy individually in bottles. However, thanks to winemaker Keller's idea with the crates, which he first realised in 2011, the coveted Gmax is now only available to connoisseurs.

Keller's wines, which have more than earned the designation "Grosses Gewächs", also favour both the rarity and the quality of this fine wine. This is because the grapes still have to be harvested by hand to be labelled Grosses Gewächs.

The vintner family Keller's Trockenbeerenauslese wines are also Prädikat wines that are highly valued and traded in wine connoisseur circles.

Countless top ratings and awards

The Gault Millau Wine Guide honoured Keller as "Winemaker of the Decade", not only because of his Trockenbeerenauslese and other unique quality wines, but certainly also because he is one of those exceptional winemakers who go their own way and know how to combine tradition, closeness to nature and their own company policy.

German wines from Rheinhessen are undoubtedly something special, but not every winery can claim that its wines are recognised at the royal court in Great Britain. Thanks to Klaus Peter Keller's innovative business ideas and his courage to break new ground, his wines are now internationally recognised and sought-after. The wines of the Keller family, which is now in its tenth generation of producing top-quality German wines, are among the most prized wines far beyond the borders of Germany.

Here are some tasting notes on cellar wines:

John Gilman, View from the Cellar

2008 Morstein Riesling Grosses Gewächs -Weingut Keller

The 2008 Morstein from Weingut Keller is an absolutely brilliant wine in the making, but it is still many years away from a full awakening from its slumber. The stunningly pure and youthful nose soars from the glass in a focused blend of sweet grapefruit, passion fruit, a kaleidoscope of chalky minerality, exotic flower petals, tangerine zest and smoke. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused and racy, with a rock solid core, flawless focus and balance, snappy acids and brilliant length and grip on the laser-like finish. This is a baby, but what a future it has ahead of it! 2020-2050+. 97+

2007 Riesling "R.R." - Winery Keller

The 2007 Riesling "R.R." from Klaus-Peter Keller is a beautiful bottle that is starting to drink with great style and complexity, as it offers up a classy nose of apple, pink grapefruit, wet stone minerality, delicate notes of petrol, wild yeasts and a topnote of dried flowers. On the palate the wine is medium-full, crisp and beautifully balanced, with a fine core of fruit, bright, ripe acidity, excellent focus and a very long, complex and vibrant finish. This was a slightly 36 sweeter vintage for the R.R., as Klaus-Peter had a barrel each of Morstein and G-Max in 2007 that would not quite ferment down to sufficient dryness to qualify as Trocken, and hence could not be included in their respective Grosses Gewächs bottlings and the 2007 R.R. was treated to some pretty classy additions to the cuvée. 2012-2025. 92

2006 Westhofen KIRCHSPIEL Riesling Grosses Gewächs

The 2006 Kirchspiel from Klaus-Peter Keller is still a few years away from really blossoming, but it is beginning to reach out from behind its structure and shows gorgeous potential. The deep, pure and still youthful nose wafts from the glass in a blend of pink grapefruit, a touch of passion fruit, petrol, a very complex base of limestone minerality and a lovely topnote of lemon peel. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and focused, with blossoming complexity, crisp acids, excellent mid-palate concentration and a very long, perfectly balanced and still fairly adolescent finish. This is still very early days for the 2006 Kirchspiel, which will just begin to blossom in earnest as it celebrates its tenth birthday and should drink well for at least a couple of decades from that point forward. A superb wine. 2016-2035+. 93+

2006 AbtsE Riesling Grosses Gewächs - Weingut Keller

Yes, it is absurd to be opening a double magnum of 2006 AbtsE at this point in the wine's evolution, unless you are an extremely generous attendee of the first Rieslingfeier here in New York in 2013and need enough quantity of this great, great wine to share with everyone at the event! This was Klaus-Peter Keller's first vintage in the AbtsE, and while the wine is absolutely stellar in 2006, subsequent vintages have shown even more refinement as the Keller team has worked the vineyard to their exacting standards. The 2006 is still a puppy in such a large format, but its inherent quality is still very much in evidence, as the wine is beginning to stir from behind its exceptional structure and is now offering up a deep and still fairly youthful bouquet of pink grapefruit, tangerine, petrol, wild yeasts, a beautifully complex base of limestone minerality, a touch of lemon grass, gentle smokiness and citrus zest. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very, very elegant, with great mid-palate intensity, bright, zesty acids, and laser-like focus on the very long and very, very classy finish. The secondary layers of complexity are only just starting to be hinted at in this larger format, but this is going to be a very great wine and it was a very, very generous gesture to share this at last year's Riesling Feier! 2020-2060+. 96

2006 Morstein Riesling Grosses Gewächs - Weingut Keller

The 2006 Morstein from Weingut Keller is a stunning example of the vintage, and though it is no more evolved than the Kirchspiel '06, it seems to have just a touch better balance and perhaps a wee bit more depth, so it is more approachable at this stage of its evolution. The absolutely stunning nose delivers a magical blend of pink grapefruit, tangerine, petrol, a gorgeously complex base of chalky minerality, citrus blossoms and a touch of orange peel. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and completely refined and poised, with a bottomless core of fruit, laser-like precision, gorgeous, nascent complexity and a very, very long, racy and supremely elegant finish. This is a brilliant wine in the making and only a few years away from full lift-off. 2016-2040. 97

2006 G-Max Riesling Grosses Gewächs - Weingut Keller

Looking back on my notes, I have been very lucky to have crossed paths with most of Klaus-Peter Keller's 2006 Grosses Gewächs bottlings in the past year, which certainly indicates that it has been a very, very good year! The '06 G-Max was tasted at the second annular Rieslingfeier here in New York and the wine was really quite open and accessible, with all of the stunning potential it showed early on now becoming a reality. The brilliant bouquet jumps from the glass in a blend of pink grapefruit, tart orange, very complex, chalky minerality, petrol, gentle remaining notes of wild yeasts, citrus peel and a nice topnote of lemongrass. On 39 the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and stunning in its beautiful sense of balance and focus, with a great core, ripe acids and simply stunning grip and bounce on the very, very long and magical finish. I am not sure if this is the most forward of all the 2006 Grosses Gewächs bottlings that I have tasted this year from Klaus-Peter Keller, or if it is simply the most seamlessly balanced, and hence the impression of accessibility today is that much more enhanced. In any event, I had absolutely no problem drinking this wine! 2014-2040. 97

2002 G-Max Riesling - Weingut Keller

The 2002 G-Max from Klaus-Peter Keller is a gorgeous wine, that back in these days, found its origin in grapes from the Morstein vineyard. This is one of the few Grosses Gewächs level bottlings from Klaus-Peter that I have had the pleasure to taste that is into its apogee of drinkability, and for those out there who still have doubts about the eventual quality of these wines (often based on impossibly young and closed examples), may this wine be a light in your wilderness! The superb nose offers up a very complex and vibrant mélange of pink grapefruit, petrol, orange peel, a brilliantly complex base of minerality, tangerine and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and absolutely à point, with bottomless depth, superb focus and balance, snappy acids and a very long, transparent and dancing finish. What a brilliant wine! 2013-2035+. 96

Klaus Peter Keller has turned a traditional family business into a world-class winery. His Rieslings from limestone terroir are among the best in Germany, and even his Pinot Noirs impress with their Burgundian finesse.