Willi Schaefer, Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese, Mosel

Paired with tarte tatin. Stunning

2013 vintage

Just starting to show some tertiary characteristics. Delicious.

2013 vintage

Glass: Zalto Universal Needed ~ 6 days in the open bottle to really unfold. A bit unbalanced and tart at the beginning. At day 6 it was as expected. Beautiful balanced and fresh. Zesty, lemon, clear fruit, harmonious and with a lovely tension. Potential for another decade. 90-91

2013 vintage

Almost deep golden. Medium intense nose with flinty minerality and peaches, on the palate with lime, nectarines, maybe hints of pineapple, umami. Sweetness fully integrated, feels almost dry with refreshing acidity. 5/12/17/10. -2040

2013 vintage

Golden colour. Honeyed, lemon, pear and apple. Palate is rounded, sweet but still quite bright. Definitely pushing the sweetness scale but just holding in check.

2013 vintage

Glass: Zalto Universal Popped and poured, drunk over two days. Still very young and not yet fully unfolded. Zesty nose with some stone fruit, rather tight and nice, but not yet very charming. On the palate more medium to off-dry, very zesty, citrus notes, stone fruit. Very clear and precise. Like the nose somehow not yet fully there. Will benefit from a bit more age. 88-89

2013 vintage

A little funky tonight. It's ok but showing quite like it should. Judgment withheld

2013 vintage

Charming and straightforward, lean. Drinking very nicely.

2013 vintage

A second monster tasting at Laszlo's : Apple, pear, peach and white floral notes. Vibrant, refreshing with lovely balance, still youthful but hitting a really good spot to check in on these.

2013 vintage

Lunch at Come-Into Chiuchow Restaurant with Louis : Tough to distinguish this and the Domprobst from the same vintage but I am going to try anyway. Both had good development but the citrus fruit on this was less overt, overall a more linear and taut wine whereas the Domprobst was fuller and creamier. Both were very enjoyable and textbook German Rieslings.

2013 vintage

Willi Schaefer in the afternoon (Tucson, AZ) : Following the '10 G-D Spatlese AP#5 A beautiful, fresh and floral nose, delivering the same wonderful slate soil notes as the other wines today. This seems to walk the line between the two previous wines. It has the lift of the 10 G-D kabinett and the weight somewhere between that and the '10 G-D Spatlese #5. For me, it has the electric beautiful acidity and lift of the kabinett, more of the …

2013 vintage

Pale yellow. Pronounced aromas of honeyed apricots, acacia flowers, petrol. Vibrant fruit on the palate with electric acids, tautly voluptuous, aromatic back notes on the long finish. Beautifully structured and utterly delicious.

2013 vintage

Willi's 2013 Spätlese #5 is a pretty damn good from this marginal vintage with a complex nose of petrol, white flower, peach, and stone. Great nose, less intensity on the palate. Drink now.

2013 vintage

Steely acid, trademark Willi charm, aged riesling notes (but no where near decline). While delicious, I find this vintage fairly lean and austere.

2013 vintage

Pale yellow. Petrol, white flowers, chalky limestone on the nose. Intense medium sweet fruit on the palate with precise focus, medium body, clean cut flavors of golden raisins and honeyed apricots, electric charges of acid, very long finish. A wine that lifts the cobwebs of the mind. 7.5% alcohol.

2013 vintage

SLDS Warm up Lunch : Lemon, pear, persimmon, chalk, musk and peach. Tangy cleansing acidity, nicely weighted sweetness mixes well with the brightness of the orange tinted fruit and acid. Extremely drinkable.

2013 vintage

Wafting aromas of honey, nectarine, lemon, a hint of kerosine. Rich honied fruit on the palate with intense focus and clarity, precise frame of sparkling acid, long and penetrating on the back with a lovely acid finish. Beautifully balanced, profound. 50 + 17 + 18 + 9 = 94.

2013 vintage

Good simple light kabinett

2013 vintage

Pale straw color. Sedate nose, with only a hint of zesty grapefruit. None of the usual Reisling petrol aromas. The palate is off-dry and relatively simplistic, with some straightforward citrus fruit flavors. There's a short finish with minimal acidity, despite the youth of this one. An easy sipper, but doesn't seem built for the ages. Not a brilliant value at $40/bottle.

2013 vintage

Bursting with life and an almost electric acidity, this currently seems a little out of balance with the acidity hitting first, followed by starburst lime flavours. A little more time and i suspect it will come together and be yet another excellent wine from a consistently wonderful producer. Leave 2 years+

2013 vintage

AP 05 14. A bit disjointed and tart the first day, but forgivable considering it's in an awkward phase four years after release. But the second evening this was gloriously open. Somewhat lean compared to most Schaefer Spatlesen, but that just makes this seem more classical and structured. Encapsulates the 2013 vintage perfectly - great fruit, an almost citrus level of acidity, and some remarkably find botrytis. Such a stimulating wine. This will be remarkable in a few years!

2013 vintage

Such a good wine, developing nicely. Didn't feel quite as open as the last bottle but on day 2, it was singing. Will try to resist this wine for another year or so as it is still a baby and has lots of potential.

2013 vintage

Much too young.

2013 vintage

Pale lemon. Ethereal, soul-satisfying mineral aroma of petrol, white flowers, preserved lemon. Pure sweet essence on the palate, smooth liquid mouth feel, bright framing acids with sparkling spritzy edges, long moving finish. An energizing wine that lifts the spirits. 50 + 17 + 18 + 9 .

2013 vintage

Opened by smartlysauced. Light yellow color. Notes of green apples, peaches and tropical fruit. Solid acidity in the young Riesling. I've had 11 different bottles of the Schaefer Domprobst Spatlese and this was up there. About the equal of the 2003 and 2005 but just below the wonderful 2001 vintage. 92 points.

2013 vintage

Skrukork. PnP. Frisk og fruktig. Lett å like. Ypperlig til sushi.

2013 vintage

93-94. The "tough" question is whether this or the '12 is better! Both great, perhaps the extra year of maturity makes the difference, but stylistically '12 is a little more fruit generous, and with just a bit more sweetness, while '13 is a little more tactile, and with just a touch more acidity. What great wines these are, and a reminder that German Riesling is arguably the world's greatest white wine.

2013 vintage

Kommer seg. Frisk og god, lett å like. Denne flasken var best rett etter åpning (u/dekantering).

2013 vintage

Un nez un peu diffus mais quelle matière en bouche avec une vive acidité, des fruits tropicaux et une finale salivante et tendue. Belle réussite dans ce millesime.

2013 vintage

Delicious stuff...

2013 vintage

Skrukork. Dobbeltdekantert, mye vinstein i bunnen. Frisk nese bestående av melon, sitrus og skiferstein. Lett og frisk. Epler merkes, sødmen kommer inn først i avslutningen. 20 gr/L RS. 10 % ABV. Perfekt til sushi.

2013 vintage

Another great showing for this wine. Love the focus and precision. Everything is just so perfectly in balance. My favourite part of this wine is the acidity, it keeps everything in harmony. There is obviously plenty of residual sugar, but this wine never feels heavy or too sweet - everything is just right. I must say, however, that this wine seemed slightly less expressive than it did a year ago but it was still lovely. Saved a glass for the …

2013 vintage

Beautiful wine, aromas of lime and bread dough soared from the glass. The palate had a lovely sweetness balanced by a laser like acidity and notes of slate. This was my first taste of the famous #5 and it certainly lived up to expectations. I wonder what this wine will taste like in 10 years.

2013 vintage

On the nose the wine tastes of tropical fruits, citrus, apple and dough. On the palate there's a lively acidity paired with a slatey minerality both balancing the residual sugar perfectly. Great verve and tension and excellent lenght. I'm looking forward to seeing my remaining bottles develop with time. Willi Schaefer remains one of my favorite riesling producers in the mosel. Just amazing what he puts into the bottles year by year.

2013 vintage

So full of energy it seemed to hum. A lime blossom smell the first day it was opened, when the sweetness stood out a little more. Over the next few days, the balance kept improving and the wine became more aromatic, almost chalky and effervescent in its smell (without any actual spritz), like a mountain waterfall, and tasting of lychee. Fantastic texture.

2013 vintage

See my recent note on the Kabinett. This was better integrated with better raw materials, but needs 5-7 years until it is really approachable. 7.5%

2013 vintage

Instant and amazing perceptions of cistern, dough box, slate, citrus, spice, coriander... it is light, floating on wings. absolutely blazing, and a pure perfect swallow!!

2013 vintage

Really delicious, but a little closed. Quite appley

2013 vintage

Sensational! It has perceptions of sand and slate, pungent grapefruit and lightly of tangerine rind, and an utterly inviting swallow.

2013 vintage

Gift to Larry C.

2013 vintage

A very versatile Riesling. Paired this to Kung Pao chickden tonight and it was delicious! Had it as a terrace quaffer, with pineapple desserts... it Always delivers and serves the dish right! Buy and drink this nectar of the Gods when you please, it doesn't seem to fail me ever...

2013 vintage

Beautiful kabinett. Crystalline, mineral, amazingly complex for a young kabinett. Very long and complete. Best 2013 I've had so far (although that's a fairly small sample group at this point).

2013 vintage

Day 3 in the Mosel - Schaefer/Selbach-Oster/Prum (Mosel Saar Ruwer - Germany) : Bits of mango, pineapple, and peach. Palate is lush with medium acidity. Certainly young, but I didn’t find this overly complex. Would love to chug a bottle at the beach.

2013 vintage

Light in colour. Floral with some light spice on the nose. Clean and sharp on the palate. Fresh and zingy acidity, a little sweetness of the finish. Fine texture, good length, clean finish. Moreish even if it's a little simple at this stage. The 2013's I have had show plenty of acidity which I like.

2013 vintage

Lovely kabinett, like fresh spring water and delicious fruit. Clean fresh and long. Perhaps lacking some complexity vs other vintages but still very nice

2013 vintage

Refreshing wine with bright acidity with a nice mineral backbone and good length. Very pure fruit – slightly skinny maybe. 88-90

2013 vintage

Very pronounced acidity which impressively lifts the ripe, sweet fruit. Lots of drive and energy. Very long and fine. 92-93+

2013 vintage

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Willi Schaefer, Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese, Mosel

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