2018 Westhofen MORSTEIN Riesling Grosses Gewächs Q.b.A. trocken Klaus Peter Keller, Rheinhessen

Vinous - 2018 Westhofen MORSTEIN Riesling Grosses Gewächs Q.b.A. trocken, Klaus Peter Keller

There is downright severity to the penetration that this delivers on the nose – of crushed citrus seeds, oregano, sea breeze and chalk dust – as well as to the gripping tactile impingement of those elements on the palate. The feel is firm, but even taken together with the aforementioned sense of severity, the wine doesn’t come off as austere, thanks to its mouthwatering salinity and abundant bright juiciness of lime and grapefruit. The vibratory finish is tongue-lashing in intensity, but you don’t have to be some kind of masochist to enjoy drinking this, because it’s refreshing as well as rivetingly fascinating. I’m left with a paradoxical set of impressions: On the one hand of a palate-scouring, on the other hand, of chalk, salt and citrus oil layers having been deposited that it would be hard to scrape from my teeth. What I wrote about this wine’s vintage 2017 predecessor holds true here as well: “[F]or all that [it] approaches hyper-concentration, it nonetheless exhibits an exhilarating sense of animation and lift while compelling the next sip.” To which observation Keller responded, “That’s exactly how it should be.” - David Schildknecht, Nov. 2020