Willi Schaefer, Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese Nr8, Mosel

Better bottle than previous. More vibrant, more dimension.

2014 vintage

Absolutely superb. Rich without being heavy. Lots of mirabelle plum, apricot, raspberry and honey on both nose and palate. Electric and lots of life ahead

2014 vintage

At home after work. Drank in Gabriel Standart. Appearance is clear, pale intensity, yellow lemon colour. Thin legs. Nose medium+ intensity, with aromas of green apple, tangerine, citrus lemon-lime, weathered stones minerality, light petroleum, honeysuckle, bit of burnt rubber tyre smoke and spice. Developed. On the palate, medium-dry/medium-sweet, good bracing high acidity, low alcohol (7.5%), medium- body. Medium flavour intensity, with flavours of juicy green apple, citrus lemon-lime, weathered slate stones minerality, sweet honeysuckle, bit of smokiness and spice to …

2014 vintage

Old gold; an attractive nose; palate under-powered but smart; tails off. No more than decent. Best drunk soon.

2014 vintage

Riesling masterclass with Craig Ganzer (Ora et Labora, Portland OR) : The nose is lifted and fresh with tones of nectarines, pears, green tea, acacia flowers, meyer lemons, apples, honeydew, saline, and mineral notes. There is good complexity with a lovely seamless quality that is fun to smell. The light bodied feel is fresh and lively with mouthwatering, high acidity. This is lovely and fresh while showing just a smidge of the under ripeness of the vintage.

2014 vintage

Riesling masterclass with Craig Ganzer (Ora et Labora, Portland OR) : The nose is lifted and aromatic with balanced tones of nectarines, peaches, green apples, vanilla beans, pears, honeydew, yellow flowers, acacia flowers, honeydew melons, and an underlying minerality that provides an excellent base. There is a lack of depth to the nose that is likely due to the vintage. The light bodied feel is deft and balanced, but it lacks some depth while possessing integrated and tart, high acidity. …

2014 vintage

Delicious and ripe, as usual amazing acidity that makes it easy to drink. Yellow peaches and pineapple notes.

2014 vintage

double decanted 2 hours prior to serving bright yellow color, gorgeous sexy nose of citrus and sweet lime, slate, magnolia blossoms, a bit of petrol, on the palate still primary and just starting to unfurl, earthy citrus notes, a bit more honeyed than usual lending a certain opulence to accompany its lively and racy structure, great length with pure lime acids that sharpen towards the end, even at release 2014 was looking really special at Schaefer and- as with the …

2014 vintage

Gourmetklubbens femtiofjärde middag (Södermalm, Stockholm (P+A)) : Maturing nose showing flowers, petrol and citrus with a hint of burnt rubber. Pleasant sweetness on the palate integrating well with the citrus acidity and drinking very well. (Best 2015-2025)

2014 vintage

Belle fraîcheur, notes citronnées, pas très cmplexe ni très long en bouche. Un kabinett honnête, sans plus.

2014 vintage

Golden colour. Fully mature and i very nice place. Lemon confit on the nose, the mouth is minerals, lemon and a vibrant acidity. End slightly sweet. Wonderful balance here, works well as an aperitif. Drinking a point. #X-mas-prep

2014 vintage

One of the best 2014's from Mosel I've experienced. But wow... this vintage is absolutely horrible. The wine feels slightly plumb and lacks koncentration. The major notes are all from bad botrytis, mildew and a plethora of wrongs. Tainted grapes, that clearly received too much rain too close to harvest, followed by heatwaves right after. Sell these

2014 vintage

Deep primrose; classical nose - all slate & hayseed; mid-weight, well balanced. Decent finish. Fully mature. Much better than previous bottle.

2014 vintage

Some petrol on the nose. Clean refreshing Riesling with a hint of sweetness, balanced with crisp acidity. This bottle was hand-carried back from Germany after a visit and tasting with Christoph Schaefer. Thank you, Christoph!

2014 vintage

Fruit a little thin, has some impact on balance. But nose is really nice - petroleum and tobacco. Really quite grown up. No use saving these that much longer

2014 vintage

** N: Very strong! P: Minerals and hints of pineapple. Fills the mouth but subtle at the same time. Just a touch of sweetness. In any case, can't go wrong with this winemaker.

2014 vintage

Great acidity and balance, nice mineral backbone - delicious.

2014 vintage

Mid-gold; lumpen, dry straw, a citrus undertow, mousy; rather obvious, marked acidity, loose knit; finishes in a heap. Disappointing.

2014 vintage

Rich nose of honey, petrol, lemon juice and mineral. Very clean on the palate. Finishes with robust acid. Beautiful. 92+

2014 vintage

Not too surprisingly given the vintage this is certainly reaching an early mature plateau, with lots of petrol but also some good pear fruit flavors. The sugar has been eaten up a bit and it doesn't show very sweet. Acidity not particularly high but well balanced and delicious.

2014 vintage

Pure sunshine poured over river rocks with a good twist of lime. Not ashamed I drank the last glass or so straight from the bottle... not hard to do at 7.5% abv...

2014 vintage

[08 15] This developed nicely since I have tried it last - generous, spicy, slightly floral and honeyed with excellent acidity, medium complexity and depth. Vibrant finish, good length. 90-92

2014 vintage

[03 15] Smoky, herbal, darker in terms of fruit profile compared to the 2016 Himmelreich Kabinett tasted before. On the palate fresh and vibrant, again great minerality towards the finish. 90-92

2014 vintage

This has been open for a week or two but it's basically the same. Consistent with other bottles. This is decent Kabinett but it is a little diluted and the flavor profile has more lemon-lime and sour than it does the usual Willi lime or lime/tangerine or Kaffir lime. Except for the Auction Spatlese, I find the 14 Schaefers to be disappointing when it comes to the ultra-high level we expect from this estate.

2014 vintage

Disappointing right now. Not a bad wine but, IMO not up to the level that I expect from this exalted winery. It's got some nice fruit and minerality and acid, but it also has some bitterness, feels a but clunky and I'd swear it has some off aroma - a little rotten. Given it's age it could just be going through a rough patch (I like to give my WS Kabs like 8-10 years, but 14 isn't a great year …

2014 vintage

Regular dinner group (By PvD @ Fitzgerald) : Full bodied, yellow tropical fruits, very beautiful and tasty.

2014 vintage

Easy drinking, but with that nice tension which often characterizes Mosel Rieslings. I enjoyed it.

2014 vintage

VIno di grande piacevolezza, beccato averlo bevuto così giovane

2014 vintage

Musky white yellow fruit, grapefruit and some lemon. Slate and stone. Green sweetness. Medium body. Very good

2014 vintage

Honey and lemon/lime zest nose. Juicy just ripe peach. Peach skin, lime zest, pinch of salt on the finish. Low alcohol, so much fun to drink!

2014 vintage

Screwcap, 11% alc. AP0715. Grapefruit, lime, cream, slate and a hint of passionfruit. Flowers come in and out of the background. Needs coaxing for multiple days to really open up. Firm and unyielding in the mouth with grapefruit and orange peel dominating. Just enough sweetness to take the edge off the firm acid streak and add mouth feel. Opinion: good food wine but hard to drink on its own at the moment.

2014 vintage

Cork, 7.5% alc. AP0215. Pungent Kaffir lime, tobacco, peach, graphite, apple juice, pineapple and autumn leaves. Lacks vibrancy on the palate, a bit one-dimensional with dulled flavour. Not particularly sweet; A little bit watery in texture. Fine acidity leaves a clean impression on the finish. Opinion: not exciting at this time in its life.

2014 vintage

Still getting over a head cold, but needed something to go with a Thai curry I made last night. This is crisp and lovely on the nose with lime, strawberries, banana, golden and red apples, honey, sweet herbs and spices - the combination of lightness, creaminess and sweetness is just great. The palate enters light and crisp, with lime and minerals, as the palate develops, it stays light and crisp, which I like, you can feel the bones poking through …

2014 vintage

nice floral notes sit on top of green apple, all underpinned with a gravelly rock profile.

2014 vintage

This is delicious and incredibly quaffable. Good acidity but far from an enamel-ripper. Mix of apple and pear, with maybe a little clementine thrown in for good measure. Barely off-dry tasting. Nice work on a tough vintage.

2014 vintage

A bit closed needs more time and aeration.

2014 vintage

I liked this. Not a wine of finesse and at times a little blunt but also characterful and intriguing. This is QBA, not Kabinett Riesling so, the Alc comes in higher at 11% and likely adds a sense of a bolder fuller, less delicate version of Mosel. The bubbles seemed slightly bigger and the wine a bit more fizzy then most. At the same time this is not as bright as some Mosel producers wines. Fun wine to contemplate or …

2014 vintage

Pale yellow color, on the nose- restless, a rich citrus core, intense rose petals, honeysuckle, waves of white minerals washing over and among it all, on the palate glorious, deft and precise, there is a dreamlike weightlessness here but also a penetrating palate impact, blueberry notes, succulent finish of astonishing length, with time truly luscious, dark stones and slate, a hint of peaches, wonderful wine, showing quite a bit of leg and a vintage that I think will mature a …

2014 vintage

Pale and light bodied. Intense aromas of orange blossom and spice give way to petrol and apple. Light and full of slate, off dry, and in the mouth, the fruit is white grapefruit. Excellent stuff.

2014 vintage

Tropical and stone fruit nose with a whiff of petrol. Balanced minerality on the palate but this finished a bit disjoint, almost cloy.

2014 vintage

So young and while full of potential so delicious and open right now, array of tropical fruits, with tart green apple skin undertones, minerals galore! And a subtle spice, same mix of yellow tropical and green orchard fruits on the palate wrapping around medium plus acidity core and medium plus length finish, if this is his 14 versions I can't wait to get my hands on some of the 15s

2014 vintage

Tasted blind against the 2015 and the Weiser-Kuenstler Ellergrub Kab. 2015. Immediately more elegant and clean than the 2015. Citrus fruit, lime, a green note. Sweet attack, citrus fruit towards the lemon side of the spectrum. Then it gets tenser, with a progression towards the finish on lemonade. Good, but less than the 2015. Day 2 non-blind. Shows a bit of evolution on the nose, less fruit and more mineral. Lighter than the 2015, lacks a bit of weight, but …

2014 vintage

Beautiful honey and lemon zest nose. Apricot, lemon zest, pear. Refreshing acidity.

2014 vintage

PnP. Shy nose of white peach, nectarine, chalk and slate. Palate presents with a ton of barely ripe yellow fruit that persist through to a slightly chalky finish.

2014 vintage

Mad stole it!!!!

2014 vintage

standard entry level with nice array of yellow fruits and stone, medium acidity and length

2014 vintage

Full disclosure: I chilled this bottle in the fridge, took it out to dinner but didn't drink it and let it up to warm temp completely for a while and then put in back in the fridge. This starts out with a nice bit of lime, but it goes somewhat sour, with a spicy chilies, and kind of sweet&sour with some minerals and chalk. The palate seems light and sour - again some lime, but the tartness dominates without being …

2014 vintage

Nice interplay on the nose between the ripe yellow fruits and terrific stone/minerals delicate touch of fruit ripeness on the attack but with such high elegant acidity ithe mouthfeel is in wonderful harmony with decemt length finish one of the better 14 kabinett I have had

2014 vintage

Nice notes of pineapple, lemon/lime mix and some stone fruit on the nose, similar palate though not the same depth nice acidity and medium finish nice for the price

2014 vintage

HDH auction tasting at Tru; 5/13/2016-5/14/2016 (Chicago, IL) : #09-15, 8.5% abv. The nose on this is just spectactular. This has classic Willi Schaefer nose, but distilled five times to more density. The palate has this incredible sweet honeyed quality, although the sweetness on this wine isn't too pronounced. Heaps of acidity here -- this is lovely, but I wish it had just a bit more roundness to it. Delicious now, but I'm not sure if this will end up …

2014 vintage

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Willi Schaefer, Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese Nr8, Mosel

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