| Region of production: | Wonnegau, Rheinhessen |
| Winery Location: | Flörsheim-Dalsheim |
| Year Established: | 1789 |
Vineyard Holdings
Approximately 16 ha
75% Riesling; 20% Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Silvaner; 5% Rieslaner and Scheurebe.
- Dalsheimer Hubacker: 4 ha
- Dalsheimer Bürgel
- Westhofener Morstein: 1.9 ha.
- Westhofener Brunnenhäuschen „Abtserde“: 2.6 ha
- Westhofener Kirchspiel: 3 ha
- Niersteiner Pettenthal: 0.3 ha
- Niersteiner Hipping: 0.5 ha
Top Wines Produced & Inaugural Vintages
- Riesling, „Hubacker,“ GG
- Riesling, „Kirchspiel,“ GG
- Riesling, „Morstein,“ GG
- Riesling, „Absterde,“ GG
- Riesling, „G-Max“ (2001)
- Riesling, „Pettenthal,“ GG
- Riesling, „Hipping,“ GG
Average Total Production
- 96,000 – 120,000 bottles
Summary
The Swiss Keller family moved to Dalsheim in 1789 and founded a humble estate, all but unknown to most of the winemaking world for nearly two centuries. Current head of estate Klaus Peter Keller has gained a cult-like following for his winemaking. Klaus Peter is the ninth generation to run the estate–he and his wife Julia took over winemaking in 2001 and the estate itself in 2006. Keller studied enology at the University in Geisenheim, and then went on to apprentice at Domaine Armand Rousseau and Domaine Hubert Lignier in Burgundy. His wife Julia trained at Müller-Catoir in the Pfalz and with Robert Weil in the Rheingau. His GG wines have reached unattainable status in many markets, and sell out within the first two weeks after release in May every year. Limited amounts are imported to the United States. Though his focus is on dry wines, Keller also produces exceptional sweet wines in the Auslese, BA, and TBAcategories; his 2003 Hubacker TBA Goldkapsel received 100 points from Gault-Millau in 2005. The young vines from the Grosse Lage sites are not used for the GG wines, but employed to make a second wine, Riesling von der Fels–„from the rocks.“ Keller believes the most important aspect of a vineyard is not its exposition but the soil that lies therein. The top wine of the estate is the G-Max, the most expensive dry Riesling produced in Germany. It comes from old vines from unspecified Grosse Lage site(s), which Keller keeps secret due to his past experience of having grapes stolen from the Hubacker vineyard. In 2012, Keller acquired two small parcels in Nierstein’s Roter Hang.
Style & Vinification Techniques
Keller uses spontaneous fermentation and short skin macerations for the Riesling wines.
Producer Website: Keller