2019 Keller Sylvaner Feuervogel

First vintage of this wine from a parcel of just 900 m2 of 65-year-old vines in Kirchspiel which they have just taken on, plus fruit from old vines in Steingrube. Fermented in an older barrique. Keller wonders if Silvaner will be like Aligoté in Burgundy and see a revival? We want to wave the flag for Silvaner, he says. Cask sample. More intense and riper yellow fruit on the nose compared with the non-Reserve Feuervogel, still spicy. Tight and zesty, terrific freshness. Power without weight. Has the fruit purity of Kirchspiel and some of its citrus and herbal character, plus a hint of the site’s mineral character. This has a Riesling purity and tension even though the texture and the spice are more Silvaner – or is that I associate Kirchspiel with Riesling? Just goes to show what Silvaner can do in a great vineyard. A long, smoky finish with amazing tension, the fruit just a little more fleshy. Complex, amazingly long. (JH)