Aaron Tan

9.8

Those who know me well know just how much I adore the wines, the family, and the place. There’s a certain magic at Keller, one that many fellow Riesling-lovers can attest to. But this bottle, this 17’ Kirchspiel, holds a little more weight than most for me. Not just because it’s an extraordinary vintage, though it most certainly is. But because I was there working harvest that year

Sorting the Kirchspiel fruit was relentless work. Many passes. No shortcuts. We removed anything botrytised and hail-afflicted, every last questionable berry. Pressing was just as meticulous: whole bunch, long and slow cycles, gentle pressures (never exceeding 1.8 bar) to keep the botrytis influence to an absolute minimum. It was all about purity. And purity is exactly what defines the 17’ Kirchspiel.

I’ve had this wine a number of times, but this bottle, slow-oxed since lunch, was something else. A near-perfect showing. Lemon, grapefruit, flint, and white floral, all wrapped up in a saline, chalk-laden precision that feels like liquid geology. Every element in place, nothing extraneous. A dense, electric core of energy, though slightly quieter than its rowdier siblings. The structure is packed, tightly coiled, and unmistakably Kirchspiel.

Effortless energy, but born from backbreaking work. Very worth it. — a year ago

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9.5

The 2019 Zinfandel Giuseppe & Luisa shows all of the intensity of the Martinelli wines, but with an extra kick of floral overtones and acid brightness to perk things up. Cinnamon, crushed red berry, wild flowers, mint and blood orange all run through this expressive, silky Zinfandel. The blend of Jackass Hill and Jackass Vineyard Zinfandel clones on four different rootstocks, which results in different ripening cycles and harvest times, all of which translates into notable complexity in the finished wine. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, January 2021)
— 5 years ago

erto l

9.0

pop n pour. three cycles in the 90 minutes it lasted. 1) excellent nose, soft yet bright, what one hopes for with barbaresco. 2) muted out, nose faded. mouth faded, thinking it too old and ordinary:-( 3) rebirth, nose back and rhymes with stage 1. Yet, deeper this go. fruit there but fainter as second/third characteristics start to show. sadly, not a magnum so unable to report further. More study required;-) — 6 years ago

Adam Kincaid

9.1

Sho-nuf I like my chateauneuf! Wild, floral, but muscular and strong.

Usually, I try to pay attention during wine tastings, but honestly a lot of the time I am just imagining how well I would do in American Gladiators. Especially the early 90s version. (When I was a young and impressionable kid.)

I thought Malibu was an idiot and I knew I could take him out in the jousting competition, though I was certain Nitro would bash my head in with a pipe pretty quickly. Diamond... she scared me. The intense lipstick reminded me of some horrible creature of the night in search of blood. I preferred Lace. In fact, I really preferred Lace. (The first version: Marisa Pare. Not the later Lace played by Natalie Lennox Merritt.) I imagine the reason I have a penchant for wild tangled hair now is because of my infatuation with American Gladiator Lace when I was 4-7 years old. When I was younger, I would often imagine battling with Lace. As the events got more intense she would throw herself on top of me in frustration and we'd roll down the gladiator pyramid, making out in a heap of sexual energy and wild animalistic thrusting.

But I digress.

This wine smells like Lace. — 6 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.3

Been a fan of this cuvee since it's inception. To me, this is about as close as Aussie riesling gets to its German counterpart. Neither a good or bad thing, but I love that link between two countries I adore in this wine. That said, this was one of the best Aussie rieslings I've had all year.

German inspired methods on Western Australian fruit. From Frankland Estate's website:

All riesling grapes are harvested as cool as possible and pressed immediately, slow press cycles allow for soft and long extraction. Blocks and picks are kept separate and some juice from most blocks is fermented in barrel format for interest and comparison purposes. Picking decisions are made on ripeness and fruitfulness, with the main aim of working with natural balance yet intentionally look for greater ripeness with this wine and as a result greater degree of phenolic influence and texture. Juice is sent to tank to settle overnight (without enzyme or any additions). A cloudy juice is run to a combination of 1000ltr and 500ltr barrels. Fermentation is spontaneous and temperature controlled to some degree but temperature range is generally higher than tank fermentations. Post fermentation barrels are topped and left un-sulphured through to spring time quite often if residual sugars are high fermentation will be left to start again in spring as juice warms. Sulphur will be introduced when a decision is made on the vitality/fruitfulness of the wine and residual sugar is seen to be in balanced with the wine. Wine was left in barrel for 10 months (January).

The resulting wine is textural, spicy, and generous. Doesn't quite have the extract of German rieslings, but there's length, balance, and most importantly, it's uniquely its own wine. I feel that the provenance of the fruit shines through all that winemaking - that crunchy fruit-first with more green apple/citrus than stone fruits, steeliness, and light whiff of smoke/petrol. It's also remarkably clean for a barrel-treated wine (say compared to Koehler-Ruprecht or JB Becker). Enough with the rant because the takeaway is that it's delicious! — 7 years ago

Erica Wiggins

10

Love everything about this wine, fruit forward, tart, smooth, oaky and easy to drink. All the tastes dance on the tongue! — 3 years ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.0

Vintage 2016 | half transparant, matured smell, mushrooms, Scottish pipe tobacco, impression of cacao, rondeur, long aftertaste — 3 years ago

Gaurav Tiwari

9.5

Classic chambolle. Elegance is the word! Complex and clean nose with red currant, cherry, roses and primordial earthiness. On the palate, seductive elegance with a silky texture and feather like mouthfeel and outstanding linearity. It slowly peels away the complexity with layers of red fruits, roses and the classic limestone undertones. Borniques is biodynamically farmed with winemaking synched with lunar cycles on a small parcel of 1.4 ha situated right above the famous ‘Les Amoureuses’ with vines planted almost on the rock. It explains the very linear structure. The tannins, acidity and alcohol were in brilliant harmony with a finish where the dance continues for well over 2 mins. I loved this and it reminded me why Chambolle-Musigny is one of my absolute favorite villages in Burgundy. — 6 years ago

Lori K

9.3

Well balanced, tons of fruit, low acid, buttery, very pleasant with cheese and crackers — 6 years ago

tim heyman

9.1

very good understated cycles between lemon then grass then tarragon with citric aftertaste costco special offer to snap up — 7 years ago

Seth Pelletier

9.1

Baked blueberry pie with spice. — 7 years ago

Kim Sharpton

9.0

Fundraiser dinner with Jack & Barrie — 8 years ago

Samantha Winters

9.0

Juicy. Full nose. Licorice — 8 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

2003 vintage. Last tasted 10.16.22 (9.1) and a relatively disappointing showing then. This time round, decanted and tasted multiple x's after 1.5 hours-3 hours. Decent sed yet less than expected. Good fill but cork seemed a tad dry. The blueberry, cocoa powder nose was there with the quintessential, P-L hallmarks. Light-medium body. A billowing, smoky initiation, then plum along with graphite and touches of cedar + espresso crema. Left me wanting just a little more and thinking a different bottle of this same P-L vintage just might yield a 9.5. This and La Mission Haut-Brion fave two red BDX producers and this did nothing to change that. Hopefully, another P-L 2003 cycles through soon enough to prove my theorem. Thanksgiving 11.23.23. — 3 years ago

Harmony Hauser

9.3

Delightful. Long, smooth, velvety finish. Round. Full bodied. A definite return to wine. Blackstone by the glass. $9/$36 — 4 years ago

Clifford Hanchett

9.0

Good flavors and an excellent dinner wine. — 6 years ago

Chris Shultz

9.0

Not super complex but refreshing. Darker than I expected, in ripeness and on the nose. There’s some blood orange and forest floor and lots of bruised ripe cherries. Slight bit of leather. Blood orange again, vanilla, and pine on the finish. It’s cherry season out there so if everyone wants to keep talking about cherries, go out and follow them throughout the season and cycles of ripeness. There’s some soft but present, fairly fine-grained tannins and a grey stream mineral finish. — 6 years ago

Simon Gilligan

9.6

Beautiful black/red fruit mix. Medium to full bodied with an amazing chocolate that cycles through in waves. Lightly spiced/herbs, each taste brings something different forward. The tannin is gorgeous - fine but well-defined. Great density across the lot but still light, fresh and balanced. Would love to have tried this over a few nights - but it was gone in a couple of hours. — 7 years ago

Lori K

9.2

Great cherry chocolate flavor. Low acid, very drinkable — 8 years ago

Kim Tobin

9.2

This could be my favorite rose! I agree, it’s mild, “ grass like” then some sweetness but still on the dry side! — 8 years ago