Why it matters
The producer
Weingut Franz Keller works from Vogtsburg-Oberbergen in Baden’s Kaiserstuhl, drawing its wines from nine vineyards over 35 hectares. Pinot Noir is the clearest route into the estate because its plantings connect old German selections, later Burgundian clones and a cellar built around gentle movement by gravity.
Fritz Keller and Friedrich Keller make decisions together. Friedrich trained with his father from 2010 and officially joined in 2015, bringing the fourth generation into a business founded in 1892. The result is not a break between generations: Pinot Noir planted by Fritz in 1975 still sits beside later material planted under the family’s continued care.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Kaiserstuhl is the part of Baden named on the estate’s vineyard and bottle story, while Oberbergen is the village from which the work is organised. A Gutswein such as Vom Löss Spätburgunder draws on the wider estate holding rather than one named parcel, so it can show how fruit from several Kaiserstuhl vineyards comes together in a dry Pinot Noir.
The estate joined the VDP in 2014. For Franz Keller, the membership sits alongside a site-led range: the wider estate appears in the Gutswein, while Kirchberg and Enselberg carry particular planting histories within the Kaiserstuhl holding.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
Gravity flow matters most at the moment fruit becomes wine: it allows grapes, must and young wine to move through the cellar by level rather than being pushed through pumps. For Pinot Noir, whose tannin can quickly feel coarse when extraction is heavy, that approach supports a wine built around red fruit, acidity and measured grip.
The 2023 Vom Löss Spätburgunder is entirely estate-grown, so its Pinot Noir comes from Franz Keller’s own Kaiserstuhl vineyards. It is fermented using the documented cellar method and matured in oak; the resulting wine has enough tannin and dry structure to carry the oak without turning its fruit into a sweet, woody impression.
Wines to know
The range in view
The range has a useful internal order. Vom Löss Spätburgunder is the estate-level Gutswein, made from fruit across the holding and suited to showing the broad Kaiserstuhl base. Named sites such as Kirchberg and Enselberg add another layer through their distinct Pinot Noir planting histories.
Spätburgunder is the central grape to follow. In the 2023 Vom Löss, older German-clone parcels meet younger Burgundian-genetics plantings, then oak ageing adds shape around the wine’s red-fruit core. The wine is dry, with acidity to keep the fruit moving and tannin to give the palate grip rather than simple softness.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Choose Franz Keller Vom Löss Spätburgunder Gutswein 2023. It is a dry, estate-vineyard Pinot Noir made from both older German-clone parcels and younger Burgundian-genetics plantings, then matured in oak. Expect red fruit, fresh acidity, medium body, gentle oak texture and a dry finish with tannin.