Arnt Egil Nordlien
Arnt Egil Nordlien
On September 16th-2010 we visited Weingut Franz Keller in Oberbergen for a tasting of their wines. The Keller wines of the 70's and 80's is what made me interested in the wines of Kaiserstuhl. The purity and depth of the weiss- and grauburgunders was something I had not found anywhere else. So I was very interested to taste the wines of today from this firm, knowing that it is run by Franz Kellers son - Fritz - today.
The tasting showed that Franz Keller can make very nice weiss- and grauburgunders. But they have moved into a modernity that for me is a step down from the purity of expression that made me search out these wines. Their top line is their Selection-line. They are bottled without vineyard-name and for each grape made into three cuvees: The Selecion (with 5% aged in oak), Selection S (with 50% of the juice aged in oak) and Selection A (with 100% aged in oak). According to the person serving us the wines the base-wine is always the same. So that mean the making here is marked-oriented more than trying to optimize the quality from what you have in the vat.
On to the wines I found the weissburgunders where my favorites here, with the Selection S being the wine of the tasting. There is also some nice smaller wines here. Moving to the reds the spätburgunders were disappointing. With unnecessary hard and bitter oaky tannins on the finish. There was a quite nice lemberger at the end of the tasting.
Oberbergener Bassgeige Weissburgunder QbA 2009
Light and mineral on the nose. Some white fruits. A touch ripe. Simple, light and dry in the mouth. Fine minerality. Pure weissburgunder. Fine acidity and length. Nice little everyday-weissburgunder. Good.
Oberbergener Bassgeige Weissburgunder spätlese 2008
Stoney, mineral style. Touch greenish, leafy notes. Typical and cooler than the previous wine. Fuller in the mouth. More structure and higher acids. Leafy, stoney notes. Not much deeper. But finer acidity, crisper finish and longer taste. Very good.
Oberbergener Pulverbuck Weissburgunder spätlese 2009
Riper notes on the nose. White fruits. Lots of minerality. More depth here. Fuller in the mouth. Riper and some more sweetness. Also some fatness. It shows white fruits and a fine minerality. This is more interesting. Lower acidity and some more alcohol on the finish. Very good.
Oberbergener Bassgeige Grauburgunder spätlese 2009
A little shy nose. Some tropical notes, some banana, light minerality. Fullbodied in the mouth. More fatness as this grape typically gives. Still quite slim grauburgunder. Mineral style, but a bit neutral grauburgunder. Fine acidity. Fair quality.
Oberbergener Bassgeige Grauburgunder QbA 2009
Lighter styled. Quite similar in style with a touch of tropical elements and minerality. Slimmer in the mouth. Good acidity and a little crisper mouthfeel. Also neutral in style for grauburgunder. Fair quality.
Achkarrer Schlossberg grauburgunder spätelse 2009
More intense nose. Very mineral, volcanic style. Typical grauburgunder-hints of tropical elements, banana. A little ripe style. Fullbodied in the mouth. More grauburgunder-notes. But also volcanic minerality. Very different from the Oberbergen-wines. Decent acidity. Good length. Very good.
Sauvignon blanc QbA 2009
Aromatic sauvignon blanc on the nose. Nettles, leafs, stone. Quite light in the mouth. Lots of leafy notes. Some nettle. Some stone. But simple and aromatic. Decent acidity and length. Fair quality.
Saignee rose 2009
Very simple flowery and earthy nose. Very light in the mouth. Little fruit. Some flowery elements. Quite refreshing with good acidity. But this gives very little. Modest quality.
Weissburgunder Selection 2008
Fine nose. Lots of minerality. Darker, more volcanic notes. Fatter in the mouth. Concentrated wine. Mineral style. Salty. Good depth. Fine acidity. Very good weissburgunder.
Weissburgunder Selection S 2008
Mineral nose. Touch of yellow fruits. Some oak. More powerful and a little fatter in the mouth. Light oak. Salty minerality. Intense wine. Good acidity and length. Very good weissburgunder and my favorite of the day.
Weissburgunder Selection A 2008
Sweet oak-notes, minerality and white fruits. Fatter wine in the mouth. More oak and sweetness from the oak. Some minerality, but oak is highly dominating here. Good acidity and length. Good.
Grauburgunder Selection 2008
More yellow fruits. Banana, lightly tropical notes. Fullbodied. Fatter than the weissburgunder selection. Clean and clear grauburgunder-fruit. Some minerality. Salty. Decent acidity. Fine length. Good.
Grauburgunder Selection S 2008
Oak, banana on the nose. More obvious oak than the weissburgunder selection S. Powerful in the mouth. Some oak, some minerality. More grauburgunder-notes in the mouth. Tropical elements. A little more depth than the Selection. Medium acidity. Good length. Good.
Grauburgunder Selection A 2008
Sweetish barrique-notes on the nose. Lots of oak. Powerful in the mouth. More sweetish oak noticable. Salty minerality and good depth. Some tropical elements. This balances the oak better than the weissburgunder Selection A. Medium acidity. Good length. Good.
Oberbergener Bassgeige spätburgunder 2008
Light red colour. Lightly earthy nose. Some anise. Light spätburgunder in the mouth. Clean and fruity style. Medium concentration. Simple style. Good acidity. Quite dry style with a touch of bitterness in the finish.
Spätburgunder Selection 2008
Prettier nose. Some riper fruits and more sweetness. Medium bodied in the mouth. More structured style. Some sweetness from the fruit. Clear red fruity spätburgunder. Good acidity and length. Nice little wine. But very simple.
Spätburgunder Selection S 2008
The same fruity nose, but only with a touch of oak. Lightly sweetish nose. Fullbodied in the mouth. Fruity style. Quite primary fruit with noticable and unintegrated oak. This has just been released and probably needs some time to calm down and integrate. Good acidity. Some tannins. Grapey tannins. Not too hard in the finish. Good wine. Lacking a little depth.
Spätburgunder Selection A 2008
More oak. Lots of sweetness and seems riper in style. Harder and more oaky in the mouth. The oak takes over here. Oaky notes, oaky sweetness. Fruit is buried. What will happen with time. Good acidity. Harder in the finish with more oaky tannins. Fair quality.
Lemberger Selection 2008
Red colour. Pretty nose. Wet stone, earth, red fruits and light oak. A touch on the ripe side. Quite fullbodied lemberger and fruity in style. Some oak, but this balances it well. Typical lemberger-notes of wet stone, earth, red fruits. Good acidity and length. Fine, if a little easygoing, lemberger.
For those who needs pictures too.
The tasting showed that Franz Keller can make very nice weiss- and grauburgunders. But they have moved into a modernity that for me is a step down from the purity of expression that made me search out these wines. Their top line is their Selection-line. They are bottled without vineyard-name and for each grape made into three cuvees: The Selecion (with 5% aged in oak), Selection S (with 50% of the juice aged in oak) and Selection A (with 100% aged in oak). According to the person serving us the wines the base-wine is always the same. So that mean the making here is marked-oriented more than trying to optimize the quality from what you have in the vat.
On to the wines I found the weissburgunders where my favorites here, with the Selection S being the wine of the tasting. There is also some nice smaller wines here. Moving to the reds the spätburgunders were disappointing. With unnecessary hard and bitter oaky tannins on the finish. There was a quite nice lemberger at the end of the tasting.
Oberbergener Bassgeige Weissburgunder QbA 2009
Light and mineral on the nose. Some white fruits. A touch ripe. Simple, light and dry in the mouth. Fine minerality. Pure weissburgunder. Fine acidity and length. Nice little everyday-weissburgunder. Good.
Oberbergener Bassgeige Weissburgunder spätlese 2008
Stoney, mineral style. Touch greenish, leafy notes. Typical and cooler than the previous wine. Fuller in the mouth. More structure and higher acids. Leafy, stoney notes. Not much deeper. But finer acidity, crisper finish and longer taste. Very good.
Oberbergener Pulverbuck Weissburgunder spätlese 2009
Riper notes on the nose. White fruits. Lots of minerality. More depth here. Fuller in the mouth. Riper and some more sweetness. Also some fatness. It shows white fruits and a fine minerality. This is more interesting. Lower acidity and some more alcohol on the finish. Very good.
Oberbergener Bassgeige Grauburgunder spätlese 2009
A little shy nose. Some tropical notes, some banana, light minerality. Fullbodied in the mouth. More fatness as this grape typically gives. Still quite slim grauburgunder. Mineral style, but a bit neutral grauburgunder. Fine acidity. Fair quality.
Oberbergener Bassgeige Grauburgunder QbA 2009
Lighter styled. Quite similar in style with a touch of tropical elements and minerality. Slimmer in the mouth. Good acidity and a little crisper mouthfeel. Also neutral in style for grauburgunder. Fair quality.
Achkarrer Schlossberg grauburgunder spätelse 2009
More intense nose. Very mineral, volcanic style. Typical grauburgunder-hints of tropical elements, banana. A little ripe style. Fullbodied in the mouth. More grauburgunder-notes. But also volcanic minerality. Very different from the Oberbergen-wines. Decent acidity. Good length. Very good.
Sauvignon blanc QbA 2009
Aromatic sauvignon blanc on the nose. Nettles, leafs, stone. Quite light in the mouth. Lots of leafy notes. Some nettle. Some stone. But simple and aromatic. Decent acidity and length. Fair quality.
Saignee rose 2009
Very simple flowery and earthy nose. Very light in the mouth. Little fruit. Some flowery elements. Quite refreshing with good acidity. But this gives very little. Modest quality.
Weissburgunder Selection 2008
Fine nose. Lots of minerality. Darker, more volcanic notes. Fatter in the mouth. Concentrated wine. Mineral style. Salty. Good depth. Fine acidity. Very good weissburgunder.
Weissburgunder Selection S 2008
Mineral nose. Touch of yellow fruits. Some oak. More powerful and a little fatter in the mouth. Light oak. Salty minerality. Intense wine. Good acidity and length. Very good weissburgunder and my favorite of the day.
Weissburgunder Selection A 2008
Sweet oak-notes, minerality and white fruits. Fatter wine in the mouth. More oak and sweetness from the oak. Some minerality, but oak is highly dominating here. Good acidity and length. Good.
Grauburgunder Selection 2008
More yellow fruits. Banana, lightly tropical notes. Fullbodied. Fatter than the weissburgunder selection. Clean and clear grauburgunder-fruit. Some minerality. Salty. Decent acidity. Fine length. Good.
Grauburgunder Selection S 2008
Oak, banana on the nose. More obvious oak than the weissburgunder selection S. Powerful in the mouth. Some oak, some minerality. More grauburgunder-notes in the mouth. Tropical elements. A little more depth than the Selection. Medium acidity. Good length. Good.
Grauburgunder Selection A 2008
Sweetish barrique-notes on the nose. Lots of oak. Powerful in the mouth. More sweetish oak noticable. Salty minerality and good depth. Some tropical elements. This balances the oak better than the weissburgunder Selection A. Medium acidity. Good length. Good.
Oberbergener Bassgeige spätburgunder 2008
Light red colour. Lightly earthy nose. Some anise. Light spätburgunder in the mouth. Clean and fruity style. Medium concentration. Simple style. Good acidity. Quite dry style with a touch of bitterness in the finish.
Spätburgunder Selection 2008
Prettier nose. Some riper fruits and more sweetness. Medium bodied in the mouth. More structured style. Some sweetness from the fruit. Clear red fruity spätburgunder. Good acidity and length. Nice little wine. But very simple.
Spätburgunder Selection S 2008
The same fruity nose, but only with a touch of oak. Lightly sweetish nose. Fullbodied in the mouth. Fruity style. Quite primary fruit with noticable and unintegrated oak. This has just been released and probably needs some time to calm down and integrate. Good acidity. Some tannins. Grapey tannins. Not too hard in the finish. Good wine. Lacking a little depth.
Spätburgunder Selection A 2008
More oak. Lots of sweetness and seems riper in style. Harder and more oaky in the mouth. The oak takes over here. Oaky notes, oaky sweetness. Fruit is buried. What will happen with time. Good acidity. Harder in the finish with more oaky tannins. Fair quality.
Lemberger Selection 2008
Red colour. Pretty nose. Wet stone, earth, red fruits and light oak. A touch on the ripe side. Quite fullbodied lemberger and fruity in style. Some oak, but this balances it well. Typical lemberger-notes of wet stone, earth, red fruits. Good acidity and length. Fine, if a little easygoing, lemberger.
For those who needs pictures too.