Quarry dust, bruised apple skin, zesty fresh lemon and flowering rosemary penetrate the nostrils. Stony, alkaline components on the firm palate are rather hard-edged, but there is a compensatory abundance of bright lemon and apple juiciness as well as a mouthwatering suffusion of mineral salts. The finish is strikingly penetrating and persistent, featuring lemon peel, rosemary, salt and stone. This is a Keller Hubacker of unusual animation and transparency. I’ll be very surprised if it does not significantly outlive its 2015 counterpart, not to mention prove consistently more fun to drink.

Young wines never have it easy in vertical tastings, because seasoned tasters are not easily blinded by primary aromas, but the Hubacker manages to flatter even the most critical of noses with a pleasant fragrance of fresh herbs, melissa the most prominent of all. Living proof that fruit doesn’t always have to be the be all and end all of olfactory seduction, although a gentle whiff of local orchards does add to the attraction. Radiant acidity gives rise to high hopes for a long life expectancy, and in combination with the delightful herbal expression on the finish produces an exhilarating coolness on the palate. I have no doubt that in time further treasures will emerge from beneath the surface of primary and secondary aromas. (MS)