2014 Keller Dalsheimer Burgel Spätburgunder Grosses Gewachs

Bright sour cherry and a smoky overlay of barrel characterize the penetrating aromas and firm feel of this infant Pinot. Hints of coriander and black pepper offer invigorating interest on an infectiously juicy and animated finish that reflects both the wine’s overall concentration and modest (12.5 percent) alcohol. There is a faint rasp of tannin, though sheer juiciness largely overrides that and time in bottle may well bring further refinement. There were eight barriques – or around 200 cases – of this.

A deeper shade of plum with violet rim. Fruits of the forest join forces with spicy and floral aromas for olfactory temptation. On the palate blueberries deliver juice, blackberries a crunchy quality and mountain cranberries a mouth-watering piquancy. Dark chocolate and tobacco add a fine bitter notion to balance the sweet fruit. Generous in flavour, firm in stature. (MS)

Tasted as a barrel sample, the 2015 Bürgel Spätburgunder GG offers a lovely, clear, fresh, sour-cherry aroma on the pure and very well-focused nose. This wine is sourced from a protected, south-facing cru with clayey limestone soils, and yielded 32 hectoliters per hectare. It fermented for 19 days (just one punch down per day) and is raised in used Burgundian pièces (second and third passage), scheduled to be bottled in September. The full-bodied, yet also light or lifted wine is round, intense and fruity. However, it is also tightly-woven, very clear, pure and fresh on the palate, pairing ripe and concentrated cherry flavors with grip and a stimulating freshness in the finish. This is the purest, freshest and tightest Bürgel that Keller has ever made. I just love it.