2006 Robert Weil Kiedricher Gräfenberg Riesling Spätlese

Tropical suggestions of soursop, pineapple, and papaya, along with candied, spiced grapefruit and sweet floral perfume dominate the 2006 Kiedricher Grafenberg Spatlese, and one’s palate is coated with glossy, oily essence of fruit and honey. Smoky hints of black tea underscore the botrytis component. Amazingly, this remains bright and invigorating, with lemon and grapefruit citricity lighting up its long, tropically-fruited, honeyed finish. This will almost certainly be worth pursuing for another 12-15 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