2006 Robert Weil Spatlese

With the 2006 Riesling Spatlese, Weil explains, we have left any green-gold fruit behind, but not yet entered the realm of botrytis. High-toned, ester-rich pit fruit and citrus oil notes in the nose signal advanced ripeness. But a fresh lemony brightness backed by ten grams of acidity generates tension with the high residual sugar present, and honey-drenched pear and yellow plum preserves inform an imposingly glossy palate. Think of this as a little Auslese, probably worth following for at least 5-7 years. Wilhelm Weil relates that his team (twice the size he would have fielded only a few years ago) harvested for seven weeks without pause, 14-18 hours a day in order to capture the best possible quality from a year that set records in the Rheingau for total heat accumulation, but then of course threw inopportune rain in the vintner’s way. “The critical thing was to retain a reflection of our terroir, but to make use of the opportunity afforded by such precocious ripeness,” he observes. As in so many recent vintages, the Weil estate also benefited from some of the stoniest soils and highest, breeziest exposures in the Rheingau. Imported by Rudi Wiest, Cellars International, Carlsbad, CA; 800-596-9463