Weil is widely considered one of the true greats of Germany’s highest Prädikat styles, which by default places them among the world’s greatest sweet wines. Riesling authority Stuart Piggot has written: “Where would the Rheingau’s tradition of high-end Riesling dessert wines be today if it weren’t for Wilhelm Weil’s modern masterpieces in the style.” He is not exaggerating!
These wines are as staggeringly beautiful as they are rare. Made in homoeopathic qualities in small, custom-built vats, each sip of these wines is a symphony of flavours, with layers of apricot, peach, honey, and hints of citrus intertwining harmoniously with deep minerality and super-charged, crystalline acidify. The purity and poise, not to mention the sublime elegance and vibrating length, is profound. While they are incredibly delicious when open young, they are also amongst the longest-lived wines, improving in the bottle for generations.
One key to this estate’s success with these unique styles is that the mountainous, rocky setting of the Kiedricher Berg vineyards allows for a perfect balance between natural sweetness, mouth-watering freshness and pungent, intense minerality.
The harvest seldom begins before October and continues for at least eight to ten weeks. During this time, the grapes are harvested by as many as 40 experienced pickers, with the draconian selection of pristine berries taking up to 17 passes through the vineyards.
The reward for such painstaking work is the kind of iridescent wines that have helped shape Rheingau’s legend for the past two centuries. Indeed, we could consider them among the first ever ‘icon wines’; this estate’s legendary 1893 Auslese traded hands for sums far exceeding Bordeaux or Burgundy’s top growths.
Alcohol: 8.5% | Acidity: 11.6 g/l | Residual sugar: 199 g/L