2018 - Riesling RR, Keller

As usual, Keller’s “double-R” bottling represents one of his lots from Kirchspiel that originates in a uniquely iron-rich parcel and is permitted to finish its fermentation before reaching legal Trockenheit. And as usual, too, it can typically be purchased for one-third the price commanded in the marketplace by the corresponding Grosses Gewächs (in the very unlikely event that you can locate any of the latter). A pungent, zesty, bittersweetly suggestive nose features kumquat, grapefruit, black tea and sage, which then practically sizzle as they grip the glossy palate. The sense of concentration here is implosive. Into the resonant, tongue-tingling finish rolls a veritable avalanche of stony, stony mineral matter. One often hears German growers opine that halbtrocken Rieslings are inherently prone to exhibit tension and opacity that require time to resolve. (Actually, I hear this even from some who haven’t bottled a halbtrocken Riesling in decades.) I don’t accept that generalization, but this particular wine, when compared with the brilliant clarity of so many other Keller 2018s, does exhibit productive tension combined with a slight sense of opacity. So I would recommend some patience. The prospects are propitious.