2023 Weingut Willi Schaefer, Riesling Kabinett, Graacher Himmelreich, Mosel, Germany.
Coming from Schafer’s historic plots that are located on steep weathered Devonian slate (soil) slopes and consist of up to 100-year-old, ungrafted vines at the legendary Graacher Himmelreich, this outstanding 2023 Kabinett is everything you’d want from a Riesling, and a great way to get introduced to Paul Grieco’s Terroir Wine Bar in New York City. Brilliantly pale gold in the glass this 2023 Graacher Kabbi has loads of mineral charm with a nicely slightly off dry and refreshing palate of smoked apricot, lemony citrus, pineapple and crisp green apple fruits, along with delicate white blossoms, crushed flinty stone, crystallized ginger, almond paste and a perfect mix of sweet and saline. It’s hard to beat Schaefer for pleasure and complexity and this one provides for both to near perfection. The Willi Schaefer estate in the Mosel, as noted is a small family winery that has a long history in German wines dating back to 1121 and is solely focused on terroir driven Riesling, making wines that are luxurious and regardless of sugar levels are gloriously balanced, you almost never feel sweetness on its own, it is more textural in its presence, as with this one. In 2015 Christoph Schaefer took the helm of the winery from his illustrious father Willi and together with his wife Andrea continue to run it with the highest level of quality. Christoph and Andrea met while studying oenology-and viticulture at university, the famous Geisenheim, where Germany’s top winemakers get trained. Christoph joined his father Willi back in 2002 so his experience and the transition was seamless guaranteeing that these wines continue to be some of the most coveted bottlings in Germany. Again, this wine was a glorious reward after the long walk from Manhattan to Tribeca, thanks to Terroir Wine Bar for a great start to my New York experience, I highly recommend both Schaefer and Terroir NY, as gateways to your Summer of Riesling!
One of my favorites, as mentioned here in my prior reviews, and wine world classic, the Willi Schaefer Graacher-Himmelreich Kabi is always a delectable treat, this off dry Riesling is so pure and subtly complex that you can’t help but fall head over heals in love with it on first taste. The fermentation and elevage was done with a natural “sponti” fermentation in old Mosel fuder casks with a short lees aging to keep vitality, as seen here. Schaefer only produces about 2, 900 cases total and with an insanely greedy worldwide fan base, these wines are rarely found on the store shelves, but when you do see either the Kabinetts, buy them as fast as you can. I love the sweeter wines here too, but the Graacher-Domprobst and this Graacher-Himmelreich Kabinett offering are absolute steals for the joy and quality in the glass. These are unquestionably terroir wines, heavily influenced by the Devonian slate soils and the steep slopes on which these vines cling to. I think Terry Theise, the Riesling guru that introduced these wines into the states (and to me), says it best, These Schaefer wines are silly with deliciousness, and as crystalline as they are, as ethereally complex and limpidly clear as they are, he adds, they don’t fuss at you (about) how amazing they are. They are affectionate and they just sit in the glass and love you with their generous fruitiness and sublime drinkability. It’s been long noted that the Romans knew the benefits of Graach’s sites and cultivated vines here in ancient times helping create the reputation for quality that has stood the test of time. In the Prussian times too this area was producing some of the world’s most expressive and prized wines and their classification of the Mosel vineyards from 1816 to 1832 indeed gave Graach’s vineyards, like the Himmelreich the highest ratings, as do modern day lovers of Mosel Rieslings.
($54 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive