Dear *|FNAME|*,

From a mere 4.2ha in the Mosel, Weingut Willi Schaefer continues to craft some of the world’s greatest white wines. The Schaefer family’s mineral, crystalline and extremely long-lived Rieslings have developed a cult-like following, and their popularity is further enhanced by the wines’ extreme scarcity.

‘The 2021 Rieslings are wines for two, three or even more generations!’ enthuses Stephan Reinhardt of the Wine Advocate, and ‘Christoph Schaefer [of Willi Schaefer] … has set monuments and real benchmarks in 2021.’ It was a testing year for viticulture, with yields down 35-40%. Despite the challenges, 2021 marks a return to the ‘cool classicism of finely carved, bright, mineral-driven wines’ (Decanter).

As ever, we bought everything we could get our hands on and are delighted to offer the 2021 Willi Schaefer Graacher Riesling Trocken and 2021 Willi Schaefer Graacher Riesling Feinherb. The 2021 Trocken is full of verve and depth. It’s ‘almost floating in its delicacy on the nose’, writes Jancis Robinson, while the Wine Advocate calls it ‘saline and crystalline … a promising dry Riesling’. Their 2021 Feinherb is complex and a ‘beautiful off-dry Riesling’, says the Wine Advocate. It has ‘great energy and presence … a truly remarkable dry-tasting wine’ (Mosel Fine Wines).

The Schaefers’ vinous history dates back to 1121 in the Graach, with official records showing that they have been cultivating vineyards since 1590. The winery has been in the family since the 1950s, with Willi taking over from his father in 1971 and Christoph starting to work alongside his father in 2002.

The Schaefers focus on two vineyards in the village of Graach – the Himmelreich and Domprobst, both on deep, blue-grey Devonian slate soils. The Himmelreich produces delicately floral and mineral wines, whilst the Domprobst wines are deeper, more powerful and darkly mineral. Vibrant and complex, these wines possess stunning refinement, grace and ageablity. The Trocken and Feinherb are predominantly from the Himmelreich, with a bit of Domprobst added to both.

If you’d like to receive the private offer for the full range next year, please let us know.

Reply to this email or visit our website to place your order online.

Tasting notes

Willi Schaefer Graacher Riesling Trocken 2021

‘The 2021 Graacher Riesling trocken is coolish and pure yet also intense and provided with ripe and lush fruit intermingled with some hints of oak and a touch of banana, which fits in beautifully. Saline and crystalline on the palate, with intense, elegant and tangy fruit, this is a promising dry Riesling whose grapes predominantly come from the Himmelreich, but in this year, there are also some Domprobst kilos included. The finish is fresh and grippy and indicates crisp, just-ripe Riesling fruit. 11.5% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted at the domaine from AP 6 in July 2022.’ – Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate, 90+/100

Willi Schaefer Graacher Riesling Feinherb 2021

‘The 2021 Graacher Riesling feinherb shows a pure, bright and coolish bouquet with just-ripe fruit aromas intermingled with flinty and discreet oak notes that complete the nose beautifully. Bottled with 17 grams per liter of residual sugar, this is a dense, round and intense, beautifully textured and balanced Riesling with a stimulating, saline and finely tannic finish. This is a beautiful off-dry Riesling that is already a rounder and also slightly more complex Graacher (predominantly Himmelreich) compared to the dry selection. This 2021 should be cellared for 6 or 7 years, but it has the potential to refine over decades. 10.5% stated alcohol. Screw cap. Tasted in July 2022.’ – Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate, 93/100

What's new?