Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese #3

Very honeyed and rich, but balanced with that classic Schaefer filigreed acidity and lacy finesse. This bottle does seem rather tertiary already and is darker in color than what I would expect for a wine this age. Still delicious and the tertiary notes are still at a point where they add rather than detract, but if I owned bottles, I would be checking in on them, just in case this one was not atypical in its evolution.

Medium yellow to light amber colored. In the nose, this is quite rich, there are notes of slate and crushed rock, providing a sense of coolness, but the fruit is lush and seems very ripe: very ripe apple, some honey, also some hints of ripe exotic fruit such as guava and mango. In the mouth, it's much more lively than the nose would suggest, quite racy, nice acidity, pronounced sweetness (more Auslese than Spätlese style), mouth filling, very warm in …

Sickening nose; iron water taste; too bad.

Consistent with prior notes, sadly. An underperformance for the vintage and producer - it's full of ripe white fruit with some faintly floral and tropical notes, but doesn't have the lift, depth, or elegance that I always expect from Schaefer. Outclassed by the '04 and '08 that were poured alongside.

Lime, a bit of red apple, lots of acidity. Lacking depth or stone fruit goodness, and the finish is only lime and puckering acidity. Quite good, but sadly (given my love of Schaefer and my love of 2001), this is not as rich or exciting as I would hope.

Another underwhelming bottle, just like my last. Bright citrus and red apple fruit lifted by lively acidity, but doesn't show the complexity or finesse I typically expect from Schaefer.

I've had some great bottles of this recently, but sadly this was not one of them. Bright Mosel fruit, lemon cream, and some gentle slate and stony mineral notes with that bright 2001 acidity beneath, but it doesn't show quite the level of intensity and depth that I expect from Schaefer (or this vintage), and it finishes a bit short and thin on the finish. I hope other bottles show better than this.

My first '01 Schaefer, and quite the disappointment. I can't imagine that this is representative of the '01 Schaefer lineup, and perhaps was not a representative bottle (the wine refrain of disappointment). While the fruity and minerally goodness was there underneath, this was hollow on the mid-palate and the finish was quite clipped, making it merely good. Update: a slight improvement the next day.

Stunning bottle of Spätlese. Layers of fresh Mosel fruit, slate, flowers and sweeter honeyed and lemon cream elements all coming together seamlessly into a very polished, graceful package. There's amazing lightness and freshness here with that '01 acidity keeping it really precise and vibrant, and it's all too easy to drink.

Rieslingfeier - BYOB Main Event (Rouge Tomate, NYC) : Corked.

Sublime, drinking beautifully. Very fresh, transparent, with tons of stone fruit and green apple, hints of secondary petrol just in the background. Focused and mineral-driven finish, long and persistent. Glad to have a few more in the cellar!

Just like the last bottle I had. Great stuff.

Just what you'd expect from Schaefer; incredibly pure and classical Mosel fruit, slate and florality coming together flawlessly with the beginnings of developing smokiness. The balance is impeccable with bright acidity keeping it incredibly fresh and vibrant, and a glass of this disappears remarkably quickly.