Weil is widely considered one of the true greats of Germany’s highest Prädikat styles, which places them amongst the world’s greatest sweet wines by default. 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, are profound. While they are incredibly delicious when opened young, they are also among 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, as many as 40 experienced pickers harvest the grapes, 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 the Rheingau’s legend for the past two centuries. Indeed, we could consider them among the first ever ‘icon wines’; in its day, this estate’s legendary 1893 Auslese traded hands for sums far exceeding Bordeaux or Burgundy’s top growths.
Critic Reviews
100 POINTS
Stuart Pigott - JamesSuckling.com
This unbelievable riesling TBA is the essence of dried apricots, mangoes and papayas, and it could hardly be more concentrated. It also has a truly extraordinary acidity, and this makes it as bright as any diamond that I’ve ever seen. This unique expression of Rheingau riesling is a monumental wine, also monumental in freshness. It also has almost none of the mushroom character that these wines usually have in their youth. If you like vibrant acidity you could drink it now, but I recommend as much patience as you can muster. Extremely limited production from organically grown grapes. Drinkable now, but best from 2030.
100 POINTS
Anne Krebiehl MW - Vinous
The 2022 Riesling Kiedricher Gräfenberg Trockenbeerenauslese was made from grapes raisined by botrytis but without spores. Amber-gold in the glass, it sprays with candied lemon and golden blossom honey. The palate has immense sweetness and thrill, with that candied lemon intensity driven to the extreme reaches of aroma, brightness, freshness and richness. Scented with citric essence and lusciously concentrated, it is defined by full-flavored sweetness. The very purity of this wine is astonishing, memorable and so intense. Even a tiny drop radiates with citrus flavor. This is an elixir of the utmost purity—a superlative. More than 14g/L of acidity (!) stands against 300g/L. (Luscious)
100 POINTS
Ulrich Sautter - Falstaff
Aromas of date and dried apricot, dried pear, but also chamomile and smoky slate. Concentrated, dense, extremely stringent, vibrant, lucid acidity, playful and concentrated on the palate. Very clear, very stylish, incredibly subtle despite its power.
99 POINTS
Vinous
Amber-gold in the glass, it sprays with candied lemon and golden blossom honey. The palate has immense sweetness and thrill, with that candied lemon intensity driven to the extreme reaches of aroma, brightness, freshness and richness. Scented with citric essence and lusciously concentrated, it is defined by full-flavored sweetness. The very purity of this wine is astonishing, memorable and so intense. Even a tiny drop radiates with citrus flavor. This is an elixir of the utmost purity—a superlative. More than 14g/L of acidity (!) stands against 300g/L.” Anne Kriebel
99 POINTS
Stephan Reinhardt - Robert Parker Wine Advocate
The 2023 Kiedrich Gräfenberg Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese displays a golden-yellow color with lime-green reflections, and it exhibits beautifully pure, perfectly ripe and concentrated tropical fruit aromas intermingled with notes of white nougat, salts and nuances of slate. Rich but highly refined and very elegant on the palate, this is a playful saline and even refined TBA with enormous density and concentration that doesn't keep out the acidity, which is fine but a laser by nature. This is highly finessed yet not made for this life or the next. It's a fantastic TBA, though its concentration and fine but cutting acidity is an assurance for the future that is not ours anymore. 8% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted at the domaine in August 2024.
99 POINTS
Clive Pursehouse - Decanter
A glorious, sweet nectar of the Gods from the legendary Gräfenberg site. It's here that Robert Weil has been coaxing glorious sweet wines from its steep slopes since a legendary wine presented from the 1893 vintage wowed the German aristocracy. Stunning in its delicacy, aromas of acacia honey, toasted marshmallows and sweet peach candies. Each fully raisinated and botrytised berry was hand-selected from the intensely steep Gräfenberg site, up to 60%. The warm growing season saw late rains, and the TBA and BA wines achieved light botrytis, giving this wine an ethereal quality on the palate. Golden and gorgeously viscous with clover honey, at 300g/L, this wine packs plenty of delicious sweetness, almost effortlessly balanced by a pinpoint acidity. Lifted notes of candied lemon peel and spice bring this gossamer beauty to its conclusion. This wine will age for decades.
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Tasting Notes
Weil is widely considered one of the true greats of Germany’s highest Prädikat styles, which places them amongst the world’s greatest sweet wines by default. 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, are profound. While they are incredibly delicious when opened young, they are also among 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, as many as 40 experienced pickers harvest the grapes, 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 the Rheingau’s legend for the past two centuries. Indeed, we could consider them among the first ever ‘icon wines’; in its day, this estate’s legendary 1893 Auslese traded hands for sums far exceeding Bordeaux or Burgundy’s top growths.
