2021 Keller „von der Fels“
no asparagus, no Sylvaner
Instead the best vdF ever made, period.
It shows all the hallmark of Keller, purity&precision, finesse and limestone. In addition lemon/lime flavors. I recommend to drink it over several days.
Next bottle in 10 years.
I don’t have the experience to call lit out as the best ever but I am not surprised and trust your opinion on it.
Opened a bottle in October and can only second the view that one should drink it over several days!
Really liked it and agree with your notes, and this were my notes:
“Terrific fruit intensity, and wine for that matter. As I consumed the bottle over several night I had the chance to try it with different food and what really surprised me was how well it handled spicy thai noodles (!), I would normally expect that a bit of RS would be required, but the fruit intensity somehow balanced out the spices.”
Answer: Buy both!
Yes, I will, however…
Question: Should I buy the 2022 VdF or more of the 2021?
It is definitely not a mistake to buy both. On the other hand if you have the chance to buy 2021, buy as much as you can.
P.S.
just for the record the 2022 vdF now for 23,90€ directly at the estate
The 2021 vdF cost 22€
Bottom-line you will get GG-quality for half of the price of a regular GG on the market.
In the U.S. VDF is $50 but keep in mind Hubacker and Kirchspiel have settled in the $250-300 range, if you can find them. So still an incredible value.
Martin,
What is the best way to get to the winery allocation?
Sure I’ll have to travel to Germany for the allocation:)
Mikael,
go to their estate website and use the estate mail-address:
Ask for a registration as a customer.
You doń`t have to travel to Germany, as they ship via UPS.
OR order via Pinard de Picard in Germany or atomwine.dk
You won’t find it at Atomwine.dk. VDF have started to sell out quickly these days. I even think 2021 was slightly allocated.
It’s quite refreshing to see that Keller has once again, for the 20th vintage in a row, crafted the greatest “whichever bottling is being tasted” ever made. 
I don’t have as much experience with Keller as some of the other board members, but having tasted the 20 and 21 VdF side by side multiple times, I found myself preferring the 20 VdF to the 21 VdF in most tastings. As to how they’ll perform once aged, I’ll have to wait and see.
I think most winemakers tend to improve their winemaking year over year so one would hope that comes through in the wines
I think the von der fels generally is getting better because the source material for the wine generally is getting better (sometimes Morstein now, and even some of the younger vines not so young). I can see preferring one recent vintage over another based on style, but I think there is a pretty monumental differences between any recent vintage and a von der fels from about 10 years ago. The price, like that for all Keller’s wines except those that go directly to auction, is incredibly reasonable for what you get, but subject to the same secondary market shenanigans as all top producers.
Sorry to be very ignorant here, but what is all the fuzz about with the VDF? I’m a Keller fan and always try to get some GGs. Read a lot about the VDF on this board and thought that it should be a must buy (never had one). Then went to Cellartracker and see all the 90/91pts ratings, which is not bad, but doesn’t match the super excitment on this board. Can somebody help? What am I missing?
If you don’t know the background info in Von der Fels, it’s a blended dry riesling. KPK usually tries to make it as good as he can, and often blends in quite a bit of juice that could be bottled as GG instead to make a compelling affordable dry riesling of the same quality level as a GG wine. And in recent vintages, VdF has seen a big step up in quality largely due to a few factors a) KPK has been blending in more GG fruit; b) as Alex noted, the source material of the juice is getting better; and c) as I posited earlier, KPK, like most winemakers, has improved in his wine making. I’m sure there are others, but I’ll let the more knowledgeable Keller fans speak to that.
I’d caution you to tread carefully in using CT scores as a buying guide for wine. CellarTracker is a great resource, but it’s important to note that like in any large data set, the output is really only as good as it inputs. CT agglomerates a variety of opinions, some which may match your palate more than others. There’s are plenty of ‘data points’ on wines that a CT average score simply does not capture, for better or for worse. For example. plenty are enthusiastic about certain wines, but either don’t post on CT or don’t give numerical scores. To me, excitement about a wine from someone whose palate I trust is a much clearer compass guide for buying wines than scores or reviews from people I don’t know or understand. The great thing about CT is that you can see what other wines someone has tasted and their comments on it. It’s a great way to see how well your palate may align with theirs. There’s plenty of tasters I’ve found on CT that I align with and look out for their tasting notes. Found several fun wines that were not on my radar that way.
Is Von der Fels as good as Keller’s single vineyard GGs? I don’t think so, nor do I think anyone is arguing that. But is it a compelling dry riesling that could beat many other GGs by some producers? I’d argue it depends on the producer, but that VdF can hold its own against quite a few GGs, which is saying something, especially at the price point.
Regarding 2021 the scores are more regarding 92-93/100 on cellartracker.
YES, the traditionally young GG vines which goes into the vdF are no so young anymore.
In addition due to the 25th anniversary KP added some Morstein and Abtserde into the 2021 version.
Had a '21 VdF the other day and really loved it. My first and only wine from Keller. Not the most extensive tasting notes, as we enjoyed it only over the course of a couple of hours at a restaurant. While the wine is high in acidity, it is not as aggressively acidic as some are making it out to be on Cellar Tracker. Maybe the fact I was eating a rich/fatty meal helped though.
I give the edge slightly to JJ Prum’s Wehlener Sonnenuhrs, but I would like taste the two comparitively and also with more age on them. I would more than happily drink this stuff any time, any place.
Tough to make any real comparison between Prum WS and Von der Fels as one is dry and the others are not.
Abosultely! I was just expressing my preference in style, which I would give to Prum. I am very early in my Riesling journey,though.
I do have a question. Is the Keller wine higher in ABV due to dry style causing fermentation to be completed, as opposed to Rieslings with RS still left in them?
Higher in comparison to what? Higher than sweet Rieslings for sure - 12 or 13 maybe versus 8 or 9 (roughly). Higher as compared to other dry wines from other regions? Not so much.
