Robert Weil Kiedrich Gräfenberg Grosses Gewächs Riesling Trocken 2022

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 GGs from all 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 year the GG was raised for 10 months (instead of 12) on lees in large, neutral oak doppelstückfass (large Stockinger casks). When you think of what we are paying now for top-notch Grand Cru white Burgundy wines, Weil’s remains an absolute bargain, matching the best of them for class and quality. Few (if any!) could match it for longevity.