Klaus-Peter Keller G-Max 2009

Parker: Smoky, pungent, and animal evocations of peat, sweat, and musk oil mingle with scents of peach, Rainier cherry, and grapefruit on the nose of Keller’s 2009 Riesling G-Max, then saturate the palate in an enveloping manner impressively unlike that of the other dry Rieslings in his present collection. This is so richly-fruited and plush in texture, and its abundance of flavor registers as such an extract-rich infusion, that the contrast with the sense of transparency and vibrancy projected by the corresponding Abtserde could scarcely be more dramatic. Yet even so, this G-Max comes off as anything but weighty. Peaty smokiness; musky floral essences; crushed chalk; peach kernel and cherry pit piquancy, all impinge distinctively amid an otherwise seamlessly dense ocean of flavor whose finish both engulfs and buoys you. Eleven days (!) after having been opened for my initial tasting, contents of this same bottle of G-max were still full of vibratory energy. I imagine at least a 15 year run of glory for this remarkable Riesling.