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Wine Description
The Story
The Abtserde is a tiny sub-plot of the Westhofener Brunnenhäuschen, where a vein of iron runs through the limestone. In the fourteenth century, the Abtserde was owned by the Kloster Schönau, and was considered the greatest vineyard in the Hügelland. The wine was reserved exclusively for the private needs of the abbot, who was also the Bishop of Worms.
Klaus and Hedwig Keller, (Klus-Peter's parents) purchased this 2.5 hectare parcel of the Abtserde in 2001, despite the land still being under lease for ten years. Keller's Abtserde Großes Gewächs has already been hailed as the greatest dry Riesling produced in Germany.
Wine Information
2008 was one of those misunderstood vintages. As with Burgundy, the wines emerged from their elevage with all the charm of a fist; they were tightly coiled, inward-looking, brooding monsters. In essence, they were incomprehensible.
However, as they have slowly emerged, it’s become clear that (especially in the Nahe and Rheinhessen) these are formidable wines with the most disciplined structure since, say, the Moselaners of 2001. They seem to have all the tension and rigor of 2004 (without any of the bitterness) matched to a depth that is nearly comparable to 2007.
For purists, the 2008 Keller collection is perhaps unmatchable.
Finally, the site: The Abtserde vineyard may prove to be Keller’s top site. In the Middle Ages, this site was considered the finest vineyard in Keller’s area of the Rheinhessen, known as the Hügelland. The wines from the vineyard were strictly reserved for the Bishop of nearby Worms.
The Kellers must have felt they were onto something with the Abtserde site. It was not only the first vineyard they purchased after much investigation, but they showed super-human patience in the negotiations. Consider that they bought their parcel way back in 1996 yet were forced to wait nearly ten years for the current lease to end in 2005 before they could produce a single bottle under their label.
The 2008 Abtserde GG is only the 3rd GG from this vineyard; in just about every year, those who taste the Abtserde next to the rare G-Max note a similarity in power, depth and structure. The two bottlings are not far off – in fact in any given vintage, the Abtserde is sometimes considered the superior.
Average Bottle Price
2018 |
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445€ |