Totally beautiful Rieslings

When Willi Schaefer replied in the affirmative to my email asking for a tasting I could have kissed my computer screen. His wines never fail to have me moaning and sighing with uncontrolled ecstasy; I love them unreservedly and so trying some in the company of the man himself promised to be an oenological treat of the highest order. [link2post id=”2649″]I had already tried some of his 2009s[/link2post], which impressed me no end, but I was hardly going to turn down the offer of trying them again and, hopefully, buying some at ‘direct from the domaine’ prices. I was not disappointed, neither by the charming man himself nor by his range of artfully sculpted, ravishingly beautiful, staggeringly racy Rieslings.

I whole-heartedly recommend buying as all the Willi Schaefer 2009s you can afford. Drink them young or old and they will deliver truly awesome pleasure.

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Graacher Riesling Trocken 2009

Quite rich and weighty on the nose, with the alcohol showing a little. Not that it is really alcoholic, just more so than I am used to in Mosel Riesling. The palate also has a weightiness to it, but it is well balanced with amazing acidity: ouch! It is an unpretentious drink that offers more than enough of a good time when drinking. A decent trocken from the Mosel, who would have thought it? I suppose I should not be too surprised that it comes from Willi Schaefer – Riesling de chez Riesling.

Graacher Riesling Feinherb 2008

Light and incredibly refined on the nose. Lovely bright citrus fruit that bursts with vivacious energy. The palate has more of the lovely, fresh fruit and is very attractive and drinkable. But, I can hardly believe I am I am about to type this, I think I prefer the trocken.

Mosel Riesling 2009

Fizzy lime nose with a marked slate character. This minerality is one of the reasons the Mosel produces properly complex wines, and it is great to see it in a generic. It is a very refined nose. The palate is harmonious with a good interplay between its sweetness and exuberant acidity. This is distinctly delicious for a Qba.

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Riesling Kabinett Graacher Himmelreich 2007

This may be quite a ripe Kabinett, but it lacks nothing in terms of minimalist beauty. From the first sniff to when its gratifyingly long finish finally subsides this charms and excites with its alluring pulchritude and vivacious energy. I used to think that Himmelreich was the best vineyard in Graach and based on this wine I can see why I was so impressed.

Riesling Kabinett Graacher Himmelreich 2009

Pow! Zap! Ouch! Screaming, thrilling, intense berserker fun. Only quite a lot more sophisticated than that. Aargh! Lawks! Cripes!

Riesling Kabinett Graacher Domprobst 2009

There is a hint of yeastiness to the nose and it is a tad sulphury too, but the mingingly good fruit is there for all to revel in. The sulphur also shows somewhat on the palate, but sulphur should not bother us on wines this young. The raw materials are there in boisterous good health and its complexity is quite riveting. Yes, this is the kind of wine that taught me the superiority of the Domprobst vineyard.

Riesling Spatlese Graacher Domprobst 2009

Lighter and more transparently compelling than even the smartest chef’s ‘foams’ and ‘airs’. Utterly refined with a stunning, star-bright array of ultra chic, mesmerizingly harmonious flavours. This is the rude bits on a cat that still has bits.

Riesling Spatlese Graacher Himmelreich 2009

This is really rather floral on the nose and distinctly slate influenced, pretty god-damned complex if you ask me. It is true that there are still some yeasty hints to the nose, but at this age that is not unexpected. There is lots of that spiffing minerality on the palate which also has a rather delectable savoury character. This is classy kit.

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Riesling Spatlese #5 Graacher Domprobst 2009

I’ll use Daniel’s tasting note for this, “This wine reaches new heights of intense, stunning insanity”. Since I am insane and he associates with me I’ll assume he means this in a propitious and approving sense.

Riesling Auslese #11 Graacher Domprobst 2009

Something is wrong, life cannot be this good. I’ll have another sip… Crivens, life is this good. Ho ho ho.

Riesling Auslese ‘Auction’ Graacher Domprobst 2009

You’ve got to love the acidity on this preposterously ripe wine. I often prefer lower ripeness-grade wines over the super-sweeties, they are easier to drink without exhausting one’s palate. However, this one is lewdly drinkable and slips down a treat just leaving you wanting to imbibe more and more of it as soon as you swallowed the last mouthful (I didn’t spit this). It is as lucent as a ray of sunlight and is certainly illuminating and colouring my life with phenomenal pleasure.

Riesling Beerenauslese Graacher Domprobst 2009

One does not often get the chance to experience wines of this quality level and even more rarely drink one (yes, I also didn’t spit this one) that has balance and harmony. Consequently, it is a real treat to relish a wine that is not only tooth-achingly sweet but also tooth-fizzingly acidic and palate-prickingly mineral. For all its ripeness and botrytic action this remains manifestly vinous and drinking a small sample does not leave me feeling knackered or generally shagged out. Sugary wine from the most explicit book of tumescent good times.


This was our last tasting in Germany and I will leave you with an image from the next village up the Mosel valley from Graach, Krov, where they consider this to be suitable adornment for their bottles and buildings:

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