2006 Willi Schaefer Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spätlese

Their 2006 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese features effusive honeysuckle, orange blossom, and heliotrope; pure, fresh apple and peach fruit; and a honeyed glaze of botrytis very subtly deployed. Remarkably, one has on the one hand the special creaminess and ethereal aromatic high tones of botrytis, on the other a taste vividly like that of ripe, fresh grapes – such as one gets from a perfectly-rendered sweet muscat. I wrote of vintage 2005 as representing a return to the incomparable level of quality that long prevailed at this address, and fans of Willi Schaefer and is son Christoph will be delighted to learn that their two subsequent vintages are as fine as any that have come from this cellar, and that they’ve increased acreage at least a bit in an effort to assuage the demand that now rages at home as well as abroad. That said, the harvest of 2006 was a perfect example of why Willi Schaefer has so long resisted acquiring more vines. “It was a race,” Christoph says, “in order to preserve our style of wine” and an intimate knowledge of each parcel and ability to make quick decisions were essential. “In the first week of October,” notes Willi Schaefer, “we still had half-way normal yields, but after that the crop shriveled. And the beautiful truth is that the acids concentrated, too.” By corralling friends and relatives from the village, Schaefers were able to muster 25 pickers the second week, their largest team ever. It certainly paid off! Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300