“2019 is another great vintage for Robert Weil. Gutswein and Ortswein are fantastic. The dry single-vineyard Lagenwein are stunning. The naturally sweet Kabinett and Spätlese wines are incredibly beautiful. Although extremely small in quantity, namely the noble sweet wines are fantastic in 2019, The fruit of all the wines were stunningly healthy and of high quality—a great condition for long-living wines of exceptional qualities.” Stephan Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate
“The 2019 vintage is the best vintage I have ever tasted for German riesling in my four-decade career. The first German vintage I tasted as young wines was 1983 and I can’t remember a vintage like that – until now. The 2019 wines, from dry to classic style with natural grape sweetness are simply astonishing quality, which means 2019 is one of the greatest vintages of modern times and will be remembered for decades, possibility generations.” Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com
In many ways, the story was similar to the previous vintage [2018], although crucially, this year the vines had more water in the ground from the winter months and there were fewer, less-intense heat spikes to navigate. Come harvest, the Weil team found themselves on in a rare situation: able to pick where they wanted, when they wanted. The grapes were harvested in pristine condition—not only with fully ripe fruit, but also with great natural acidity, terrific extract and mouth-wateringly low pH. The resulting wines are exhilaratingly pure and ultra-precise Rieslings, each intense in both fruit and mineral punch. - Importers Notes
To order any of these wines, please contact Brent Williamson on 0732521117 or brent@thewineemporium.com.au - wines are due to arrive mid-May. Prices valid until 04.05.21.
2019 Robert Weil Rheingau Riesling Trocken - $49 per bottle ; RRP $58
This cuvée is a blend of fruit from high altitude sites dotted around the village. This includes the brilliantly named Sandgrub vineyard, but also a good dollop of wine from Wasseros (a steep, southwest-facing vineyard that abuts the Gräfenberg vines). The soils of these sites are typically composed of stony, fragmented phyllite interlaced with loess and loam. This is the only dry wine in this offer raised entirely in stainless steel.
“An excellent wine for this humble category that's very food friendly. Bright, white-peach and lemon nose with delicate, floral notes. Sleek and elegant, the finely nuanced fruit neatly supported by a touch of tannin and creaminess from the lees. Then comes the lively, lemony and mineral freshness.” 92 points, Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com
2019 Robert Weil Kiedricher Riesling Trocken - $62 per bottle ; RRP $72
This is Weil’s ‘villages’ level Riesling (the village being Kiedrich). The fruit is a blend of younger-vine material, as well as first-picked parcels from the classified hillside Estate sites of Klosterberg, Turmberg and Gräfenberg. As you would expect from such terroir, it is a step up from the Rheingau—with more texture and power, and considerably more rocky, mineral intensity. One-third of the wine was raised in large Stockinger Doppelstückfass (wooden cask) for six months.
“The delightful, sliced-peach and pear aromas gently lead you into this finely nuanced, medium-bodied dry riesling with filigree acidity illuminating the mineral character at the long finish.” 93 points, Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com
2019 Robert Weil Kiedrich Klosterberg Riesling Trocken - $89 per bottle ; RRP $105
The vines on this steep, four-hectare vineyard are now 30-50 years old. At 260 metres, it’s the highest of the three Weil hillside sites, yet thanks to its southern aspect and deeper, iron-rich weathered slate soils, it also produces the most opulent and seductive of these wines (when young). The Weil team often use the term ‘baroque’ when describing wines from Klosterberg, in reference to the lift and generosity. There are some similarities in character with the Kiedricher but again, there is a kick up in the intensity and drive on the finish. Raised entirely in Doppelstückfass for eight months.
“A very striking Rheingau wine! Quite a bit of exotic fruit, but, in spite of that, it remains a cool and tightly wound, racy dry riesling. Behind all this is quite a powerful structure, suggesting that it has serious aging potential.” 94 points, Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com
“The 2019 Kiedrich Klosterberg Riesling Trocken is coolish, precise and flinty on the nose with its lemon rind and orange aromas. Round and fruity on the silky textured, slightly sweetish and very gentle palate, this is, like the Gräfenberg, a rather delicate and finessed, very elegant and weightless but sensual and juicy Riesling with a lot of charm.” 93-94 points, Stephan Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate
2019 Robert Weil Kiedrich Turmberg Riesling Trocken - $89 per bottle ; RRP $105
As per the Klosterberg site, the vines here are in the 30- to 50-year-old range. The name Turmberg—or ‘tower hill’—derives from the ruins of the last surviving tower of the former castle, Burg Scharfenstein (12th century), positioned dramatically atop the vineyard. The infamous German wine law of 1971 made this site a part of the neighbouring Gräfenberg, yet in 2005, Weil succeeded in having this 3.8-hectare plot reinstated as an individual classified site in the vineyard register (historically it had been a separate vineyard, reflecting the unique terroir). The Kiedrich Turmberg is a monopole, owned in its entirety by the Robert Weil Estate and, alongside Gräfenberg, is today classified as a Grosse Lage (although Weil chooses not to bottle a Grosses Gewächs from this site). With its base of phyllite rock (metamorphosed slate) and thin topsoil, the Turmberg vineyard offers up fruit of much more mineral voltage than the Klosterberg, and in general is a far racier wine (think great St Aubin as opposed to great Chassagne).
“A whiff of smoky mystery sucks you into this concentrated and very elegant dry wine that has strident minerality through the very long, driving finish. Great aging potential.” 95 points, Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com
“The 2019 Kiedrich Turmberg Riesling Trocken is more closed on the nose at this stage than the Gräfenberg GG and shows a pure, fresh and citrus-scented bouquet with stony aromas and notes of orange oil. Full-bodied, intense and structured on the palate, this is a juicy, still slightly phenolic but elegant and refined Riesling that will improve with bottle age. It is salty and piquant on the stimulating finish.” 93-94 points, Stephan Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate
2019 Robert Weil Kiedrich Gräfenberg Grosses Gewächs Riesling Trocken - $140 per bottle ; RRP $165
The vineyard of Kiedrich Gräfenberg—or ‘hill of the counts’—has been used to designate Robert Weil’s finest wines since the site was officially classified as “Weinlage 1 Klasse” in 1867. Home to Weil’s oldest vines (up to 80 years of age, with the majority on their own rootstock) it makes perfect sense that Wilhelm Weil decided that it was only from this site that his Grosse Gewächs would derive (despite the fact that he could actually release three GG’s from all of his single vineyards).
Weil's aim has been to replicate the style and quality of the full-bodied dry wines that were produced in the Rheingau a century ago, when the region’s finest Rieslings were the most expensive wines in the world. Despite the high quality of the Turmberg and Klosterberg, this is clearly on another level. It’s not necessarily more intense but it’s certainly finer and more complete—a wine of obvious Grand Cru class. This was raised for 10 months on lees in large, neutral oak Doppelstückfass (large Stockinger casks), but you would never know—the wine is so pure and precise—so this gives you an idea of the power of the base material. In spite of the wine’s intensity, it displays stunning clarity and eye-of-the-needle precision.
“Deep, dense and subtle, this is an imposing wine, yet remains so vital and animating. Shimmering with a thousand facets, but also with a forthright, nectarine note that makes it instantly appealing. Brilliant finish that reminds us what it's like to be up in high mountains – the light, the air.” 97 points, Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com
“The 2019 Kiedrich Gräfenberg Riesling Trocken GG is intense, deep, fresh, very complex and flinty on the stony and lemon-scented nose. Round and charming on the palate, this is a highly finessed and delicate Gräfenberg that is not built on power and structure but finesse and elegance. The 2019 is rather weightless and persistently salty, and it already drinks well as a barrel sample (April 2020). I'm already curious to taste this wine again after the bottling in later August.” 94-96 points, Stephan Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate
“A concentrated fragrance combines the fruit of peach, apricot and mirabelle with subtle herbal and fine mineral notions. On the palate a compact substance of fruit is kept cool by refreshing acidity and a mineral expression akin to rock dust. Subtle sprinklings of herbs and spices add further complexity.” 19 points, Michael Schmidt, JancisRobinson.com
To order any of these wines, please contact Brent Williamson on 0732521117 or brent@thewineemporium.com.au - wines are due to arrive mid-May. Prices valid until 04.05.21.