2018 First Taste from Willi Schaefer

Dear Riesling Loving Friends!

We just got word that Willi Schaefer's 2018 Graacher Himmelreich Kabinett is available. This isn't the kind of wine we usually get to offer by email--it is, as Terry says, allocated down to the bottle. But Terry Theise picked up some extra stock this year and, well, here we are!

Willi Schaefer Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett, 2018 $37.99 $33.99 on 3+ or $32.99 on 6+ bottles

We haven't had a chance to taste a bottle yet, but here's what Terry had to say:

"We bought it all; let’s hope there’s some left by the time you read this. A perfect slatey Schaefer Kab. No more needs to be said. Have fun and drink this now in hot summer weather without a scintilla of guilt regarding that “infanticide” nonsense. I mean, you could wait 15 years and it’ll taste no different than it does now, so go on and play peek-a-boo with baby."

Don't know about Willi Schaefer yet? We have plenty from Terry Theise on the great producer below the fold. Otherwise, just click here and get your orders in, as this is a very rare opportunity to pick up this wine in all the volumes you desire, without have to worry about allocations.

Here is more from Terry Theise on Willi Schaefer:

"WILLI SCHAEFER gets the nod, has to get it, because not since 2011 have I seen a vintage more aligned with Schaefer’s deepest most fundamental strengths than 2018 is here. It’s a serene, fruit-forward vintage with a succession of beauties that finally stills you and leaves you silently grateful.”

"Without any doubt, Willi Schaefer is one of the very finest wineries in Germany. Christoph and Andrea Schaefer produce the kinds of wines that other producers covet. Hans Reisetbauer once remarked to me that Schaefer should bottle his Kabinetts only in Magnum “and even then, it is never enough."

Graach is always the “Joker” according to Johannes Selbach, who also has parcels in Graach. There’s an underground water supply here that gives the wines a cooler character than the wines of Zeltingen or Wehlen. In ripe years, like 2018, Graach shows an uncommon balance between ripe fruit and mouth watering acidity, with a very present mineral imprint.

"The Graacher Himmelreich is sunnier and slightly lighter in texture than the more mineral and smokier Graacher Domprobst. Domprobst takes longer to emerge and is always a bit further behind than Himmelreich in the development of the fruit side of the wine. That is not to say that Himmelreich doesn’t age beautifully. It’s simply that Himmelreich is charming and extroverted and a pleasure to drink at any point. It becomes a perennial favorite of everyone who tastes it. Fruit was harvested by hand in the steep sections of Graacher Himmelreich from pure Devonian slates soils. Fruit was pressed, whole cluster and fermented naturally in old, 1200 liter Mosel Fuder." "In past years this wine has been allocated to the bottle and we’ve never had enough stock warrant mentioning."

A few additional notes on this offer:

This is an offer from our New York store. West Coast customers, please feel free to submit an order, as we will be able to fulfill orders for many of these wines from San Francisco, and/or we will be able to deliver wine from our NY shop via low-cost consolidated shipping.
All orders are subject to NY sales tax and any delivery fees that may apply.
No further discounting is available, although our free-shipping policies on $129+ orders in NY, NJ and CT apply.
All orders are subject to availability.

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