2015 Graacher Himmelreich Spatlese
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This year, Himmelreich seems to have enjoyed a rare advantage vis-à-vis Domprobst in the Schaefer cellars, and not only qualitatively. There are 1,500 liters of this Spätlese, three times the amount of the corresponding Domprobst. Site-typical apple, lemon and grapefruit are laced with sweaty, mouthwatering salinity and underlain with wet stone. At first glance, this struck me as a yet more energetic and gripping variation on the themes announced by its Kabinett counterpart. But a slightly decadent fruit character and pungent spice signal an element of botrytis, which brings with it a slight diminution in finishing clarity and sheer juiciness.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
The 2015 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spätlese is super ripe and intense on the nose, with ripe apple aromas, but less spicy and flinty flavors. Very intense and lush on the palate, this is a generous and fruit-intense Spätlese with fine acidity, and good mineral grip and structure. This wine is a decade too early to show all its talents, which are also hindered by sulfur. The finish is pure and salty, but also concentrated, lush and aromatic.
Willi Schaefer is a proponent of the classic style of Spätlese, where fruit is abundant, the juices are flowing, and acidity must never be cutting. 2015 was a perfect vintage for this style, grapefruit and orange flavours oozing out of the pores of the grapes during pressing. There’s nothing too complex about this Schaefer house Spätlese, it’s all pure hedonistic pleasure. (MS)