January 18, 2024 - blind
one of the best vintages from keller before 2017. Not reached his peak. 97
February 13, 2023 - Not blind, side by side with Abtserde 2013
Very dense and focused wine. Still too young, but great yuzu freshness and acidity. The passionfruit is in the background and the concentration is unbelievable. At least 10 more years. 97
April 19, 2022 - TDN present at open, but after 5 hours of decanting the stone fruit and other tropical notes dominate. Exceptional freshness, bright acidity, and great length. Clearly just a baby and on the upswing but already wine of the night in an impressive lineup. It is so obvious that this will be even better with time that I am in no rush to open others.
*****
December 27, 2020 - Some Iconic Wines to Wrap Up 2020 (Good Riddance!) (Chez Moi): My first G-Max, and as much as I liked it, I lack the contextual experience to vouch that I "get" it. I chose the '13 from the vintages I had on hand based on reviewer's drinking windows and some uncertainty voiced about its longevity. From what I could tell, longevity should be measured in decades here, though. The bottle was decanted for almost three hours and monitored for another six. Initially served at about 50 degrees. Pale yellow color, almost completely translucent. Intense citrus and floral aromatics, with a whiff of petrol thrown in. The wine comes off as youthful, perhaps even primary, but I lack the reference points to gauges this with confidence. Ripe, concentrated citrus, steely mineral and white pepper notes. Some more tropical flavors emerged with time, mainly pineapple. Very firm acid. An incredibly textural wine, so fresh and concentrated. The elements meshed very harmoniously, and the finish was at least two minutes long. So all in all, an incredibly pleasurable wine, singular in my limited experience and highly worthwhile. Having only had it once, and with 2013 being such a tricky vintage, I will leave it to others to help me understand where the G-Max fits in as an iconic, "pinnacle" expression of a grape I am thrilled to continue to learn about. All I know is that the intensity and quality left me awestruck with appreciation for the winemaking intent evidenced by this wine.
December 21, 2018 - Beat your 2018 WOTY Dinner: Blind. Pepper, lemon, orange, smoke, saline, tropical, lemon, peach. The mouthfeel is superbly textural and the ripe fruit bursts forth, keeping its freshness with a mineral undertone throughout. Staggeringly long and intense. I picked this blind along with one other person at the table, it's definitely Riesling but in a world and style of its own.
July 18, 2018 - Two cases of Keller Grosse Lagen 2012 plus X (Concept Riesling Düsseldorf): The strongest of the 4 G-Max (13, 12, 11, 06) we tasted today. 2013 is really stunning. A lot of unripe yellow stone fruits (in a positive way, not to overripe and broad), less exotic fruits than usually but much of saline and extract. It feels not really likea Riesling. It is a monster of wine, still in his cage but nice drinkable with lot of air and time. Excellent balance and at least 20 years of drinking fun. At the last complete vertical tasting of G-Max one of the best. 96(99)
May 31, 2018 - (Aoki Singapore) Argentée, i am not sure how best to translate; a taunting elegant silver lining from beginning to end; does not reveal itself, not because it cannot but wishes to remain modest.
The first smells of a spring forest with slightest hints of orange and as it opens, the peach appears.
May 24, 2018 - Manresa (Los Gatos, Ca.): Beautifully concentrated, yet with a lightness and tingle of acidity, to go along with the petrol and perceived sweetness, that's totally dry. Not as massively exotic as the 09...nice array of nectarine and peach, green tea, smoked herbs, citrus oils. Fresh acidity that seems a little mellow, yet still possessing great balance and tasty Riesling flavors. Not the epiphany as the 09 was for me though.
May 14, 2018 - The nose is a ripe rockmelon with diesel poured over it. The palate is rich, dense and chewy. There are notes of exotic fruits and smoke and it has good build and a finish that oozes minerality.
May 3, 2018 - Served blindly and bottle was open for 2 days. It reminded me to a CH, but I was sure, it was not Riesling! Neither in nose nor in palate the typical (exotic fruits) Keller aromas. Enormous pressure, length and concentration from mid- to late-palate. Really long finish with great extract power. Everybody at the table was fascinated. Maybe as strong as 2001 and 2004. We will see. 98+