On the 23rd August, MuYi Fine Wines organised a dinner around the brilliant wines of Klaus-Peter and Julia Keller’s Rheinhessen estate.
Held at Shanghai’s Napa Wine Bar and Kitchen, the dinner showcased Keller’s dry Rieslings and Pinot Noirs.
After an aperitif with Chartogne-Taillet’s Cuvee Ste Anne, a flight of 2015s was served: Riesling von der Fels and Kirchspiel, hailing from one of Klaus-Peter’s Grand Cru sites. It was the perfect opportunity to taste the product of vines below 25 years of age (Von der Fels is a blend of young vine fruit from the various GG vineyards of the estate) and older vines next to one another, with the latter clearly showing more depth, intensity and complexity.
The 2014 Riesling Abts E followed this flight. A fantastically fresh and concentrated set of aromas such as lemon oil, flinty minerality and almost floral nuances burst out of the glass in this youthful and remarkably promising wine.
We then moved into Pinot territory, which is one of Klaus-Peter’s passions. Having spent time at Rousseau and Lignier in Burgundy, the region remains close to his heart and he regularly refers to Pinot as “red Riesling”. Drinking his Bürgel or Frauenberg Pinots, this immediately begins to make sense: these are wines of incredible clarity and precision, endowed with flamboyant and incredibly detailed aromatics. More Chambolle than Gevrey if one were to compare them to their Brgundian cousins.
This was a fascinating opportunity to taste not only a range of wines of Klaus-Peter, but most importantly to also taste his rarely seen reds. No matter what colour they come in, Keller’s wines remain some of our favourites from anywhere in the world!
