Willi Schaefer - Riesling Beerenauslese nr 16 Graacher Himmelreich 2006 (0,375)

David Schildknecht Issue Date 30th Oct 2008 Source 179, The Wine Advocate The Schaefer 2006 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Beerenauslese is the first of its kind since 1976. Quince preserves, apple jelly, gardenia, white raisin, and fresh lemon are highlighted in the nose and concentrate themselves to an improbable degree on the palate. Yet, as one would expect knowing the best wines of 2006 and Schaefer’s ideals, this has a supremely elegant almost weightless palate impression and rapier length, with perfectly balanced sweetness supporting ultra-ripe orchard fruit, flowers, and citrus, and an unbelievable primary, refreshing, fruit juiciness. If anything is wanting, it is the dynamic Himmelreich interplay witnessed in earlier wines of which Schaefer spoke, with its corresponding sense of minerality. But needless to say, it’s early days for this masterpiece, which will last at least a half century. I wrote of vintage 2005 as representing a return to the incomparable level of quality that long prevailed at this address, and fans of Willi Schaefer and is son Christoph will be delighted to learn that their two subsequent vintages are as fine as any that have come from this cellar, and that they’ve increased acreage at least a bit in an effort to assuage the demand that now rages at home as well as abroad. That said, the harvest of 2006 was a perfect example of why Willi Schaefer has so long resisted acquiring more vines. “It was a race,” Christoph says, “in order to preserve our style of wine” and an intimate knowledge of each parcel and ability to make quick decisions were essential. “In the first week of October,” notes Willi Schaefer, “we still had half-way normal yields, but after that the crop shriveled. And the beautiful truth is that the acids concentrated, too.” By corralling friends and relatives from the village, Schaefers were able to muster 25 pickers the second week, their largest team ever. It certainly paid off!