Tasting Notes: The best answer to what really goes best with a wine like this electrifying, exotically sweet Auslese, might be nothing at all, except a good friend. In the glass, the wine has a ... saturated, deep lemon-gold color. Aromas of Asian pear, candied honeydew, and white peaches move in and out of the foreground, later alternating with kafir lime, yellow passionfruit and Italian parsley as the nose evolves in the glass. Compared with sweet Riesling, the insistent, compelling perfume of this fabulous Auslese is more tropical (more mango, passionfruit, and ripe pineapple), yet on the palate, the honeyed pear nectar, and Comice pear flavors are seasoned with no less laser-like racy acidity, and plenty of palpable saline minerality, which carry the flavors through what seems to be an endless finish. Read More
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When Klaus-Peter and his wife Julia took over at Weingut Keller in 2001, they had an enviable advantage: his parents had laid a solid foundation for the future of the estate with their work in soil analysis and clonal selection, and were already producing the best wines in Rheinhessen. But Klaus-Peter has taken Weingut Keller to even higher heights, inspiring a renaissance of viniculture in the Hügelland, where the Benedictines of the Kloster Lorch grew some of the most prestigious wines in the Rheinland, in vineyards that were forgotten after the French Revolution. The journalists lionize Klaus-Peter Keller as the greatest German winegrower of his generation, but he doesn’t have time for media stardom, and is quick to point out that “great wine would not be possible here, if it weren’t for these great limestone soils. It’s only that someone had to remember the old tradition and just make good wine.”
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Viticulture in Germany is mentioned by the Stoic philosopher Posidonius of Rhodes (135-51 BC), who wrote, "...the (Germans) drink a lot of undiluted wine..." It's known that the Romans first planted many of Germany's finest vineyard sites. With the rise of the early Christian church, the vine had been intimately intertwined with religious and secular history. By the late 18th century, it was the Church which was responsible for quality controls such as laws against the adulteration of wines, replacement of lesser-known varietals with the noble Riesling grape, and the custom of distinguishing certain vineyard sites as being superior. Rhinehessia once formed part of the French Republic (1797-1816), but today it is part of the Federal Republic; the "Rheinland-Pfalz," largest of the wine-growing states of Germany.
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A "German Blend" can be quite complex or as simple as marrying two similar varieties. Grapes may include Weisserburgunder (Pinot Blanc), Riesling, Sylvaner, Scheurebe, Traminer, and even Chardonnay in some areas. There are dozens of widely-planted, lesser-known grapes that may also be used, including Muller-Thurgau and Ortega.
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This wine is wonderful with rich, creamy cheeses, foie gras, or on it’s own after dinner.
