2016 Willi Schaefer Kabinett Riesling is a mouthful wine, literally and flavorfully.
This wine comes from Mosel of Germany, an iconic wine region known for the best Riesling wines in the world. The producer has deep roots in the area with 900 years of winemaking history. Yes, 900! With two zeros.
Label Deciphered
While the name of the wine looks a bit intimidating, it’s there to help you make an educated buying decision. And it’s a common thing for many Old World wine producers. Let’s break it down together.
First, Willi Schaefer is the name of the winery. Graacher Himmelreich refers to the parcel of the estate the grapes came from. Mosel is a general area where the estate is located. Finally, Riesling Kabinett refers to the fact that grapes fully ripened at the time of the harvest. It also sets expectations for the style of wine you’re going to taste.
Do you really need to know all that? That’s for you to decide. But all of that information tells you a story of this bottle even before you open it.
2016 Willi Schaefer Graacher Himmelreich Kabinett Riesling
In the Bottle
The grapes for 2016 Willi Schaefer came from Graacher Himmelreich – a small plot of land on the estate famous for its steep slopes and slate soils. Kabinett refers more than to the ripeness of the grapes. It lets you know that it’s the lightest style of Riesling.
2016 was a challenging year that ended beautifully with a long dry, sunny autumn that allowed grapes to ripen through the beginning of October.
While 2016 Willi Schaefer Graacher Himmelreich is still young for Riesling of this quality level, it’s already flavor-rich and delicious.
In the Glass
The pale golden wine has sophisticated aromas of honeysuckle, yellow apple, dry mango, lemon flesh, limestone, and a hint of petroleum. Yes, petroleum. It’s an interesting note that high-quality Riesling wines may develop over time, adding complexity.
On the palate, it’s an off-dry wine with refreshing acidity and flavors of Asian pear, sweet Meyers lemon, and freshly-squeezed tangerine juice.
Pairing with Food
We paired 2016 Willi Schaefer Riesling with French soft goat cheese and English Wensley cheese with lemon and honey. The acidity and creaminess of goat cheese and lemon tang of Wensley both complemented and balanced the flavors of the wine, providing us with an essential wineswinging experience.
Now we wonder how it would go with our Spicy Riesling Pork recipe.
Finish
The aftertaste lingers for a long time, and it feels like you took a bite of ripe sweet apple sprinkled with the lemon juice. Tasting 2016 Willi Schaefer Riesling was a joy from the first sniff to the last drop.
What are your thoughts if you had a chance to taste Willie Schaefer Rieslings? Any favorite Riesling from Germany or other places this year?
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