2018 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese Versteigerung Willi Schaefer, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer

Mosel Fine Wines - 2018 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese Versteigerung, Willi Schaefer

The 2018er Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese AP 13 was made from two lots harvested respectively at the end of September and early October at approx. 95° Oechsle, and was fermented down to fully sweet levels of residual sugar. It offers a gorgeous nose of cassis, herbs, white flowers, smoke and spices. The wine lives from great flavors of ripe fruits, whipped cream and zesty acidity on the beautifully playful and multilayered

Vinous - 2018 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese Versteigerung, Willi Schaefer

As usual, Schaefers’ A.P. #13 Spätlese represents a half-fuder’s worth of wine intended for auction and informed by especially ripe grapes. In the present instance, scents of apple, pear, lily and heliotrope are borderline overripe and decadent, but nicely offset by bittersweet counterpoint of fruit seed and licorice, as well as allied on the palate with an unexpected degree of delicacy, clarity and primary juiciness. A glossy feel and prominent sweetness reinforce the sense of advanced ripeness on a lusciously lingering finish. - David Schildknecht, Nov. 2020