Dear Riesling Lovers ,
German winemaker Klaus-Peter Keller has an almost uncanny knack for consistently producing breathtakingly good dry rieslings, even when conditions are less than ideal. By way of recent example, the 2014 vintage in Germany was wet and generally challenging, and resulted in good rather than great wines across the board. But not from Keller. His were sublime.
How does he do it?
A combination of great sites, old vines and the seemingly paradoxical skill of picking late, to achieve ripeness, yet ending up with moderate alcohols, result in wines that are supremely pure, elegant and are always built to last.
The Keller family settled in the town of Flörsheim-Dalsheim in the Rheinhessen – the largest of Germany's 13 regions – in 1789, where making wine took a back seat to livestock and cereal crops. But in the 1960s they switched exclusively to growing grapes and making wine. When Klaus-Peter and his wife, Julia, who is also a qualified winemaker, took over the management of Weingut Keller from Klaus-Peter's father in 2001, the winery was better known for its off-dry and sweet wines than dry riesling.
Grand cru (grosses gewächs) vineyards account for 11.8 hectares of Keller's total 16.5 hectares of holdings, and dry riesling accounts for 90 per cent of the winery's output. Keller is hell-bent on demonstrating just how good dry Rheinhessen riesling can be. A limited stock of his wines can be found on our webstore !
