2008 G-MAX Riesling Q.b.A. trocken

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: Lemon oil, pineapple, apricot, kirsch, rowan, linden flower, and nut oils truly haunt the nose – and taster! – of Keller’s 2008 Riesling G-Max, a bottling that as usual reflects a parcel whose precise identity he prefers not to divulge. Wafting inner-mouth perfume of flowers and spirit-like pit fruit essences hover over a dynamic interchange between the succulent, fleshy side of the pit fruits with a diverse cast of mineral nuances (salt and chalk being most obvious). The finish positively tugs at your salivary glands and sets up a vibratory, chordal sense of interactive floral, mineral, and fruit complexity while at the same time the sense of sumptuous palate saturation and of what Germans call “extract sweetness” is awesome. In this magnificent example one perceives the stylistic distance that Keller has traversed in seven vintages of G-Max, which arguably began its career closer to the sort of power wine from which he has since distanced himself. I’d plan on being able to follow this for at least 12-15 years.

Mosel Fine Wines: The 2008er G-Max offers a gorgeous nose with plenty of herbaceous notes, smoke, tobacco, coco, candied grapefruit, mint and fennel, all wrapped into a hint of volatile acidity which adds presence and intensity to the nose. The wine proves deep, concentrated and even a tad powerful on the palate, yet always maintains a tremendous sense of freshness. The hugely long finish is all about lime, spices and citrusy fruits. This beautiful and structured G-Max is still pretty much work in progress and we would ideally wait for another couple of years to reach its maturity window. 2023-2043

Vinous: Animated aromas of passion fruit, lemon oil and pine nuts. The dense nectarine fruit and bright acid structure are at once charming and serious. With its depth, richness and intriguingly complex finish, this is certainly one of the finest dry rieslings of the vintage.