2020 Willi Schaefer Graacher Riesling Feinherb, Mosel

The 2020 Graacher Riesling Feinherb is still not as clear and bright on the nose as the dry version, possibly due to a higher sulfur dose, but it's still a classic with bright fruit and flinty slate aromas. The palate is light, fresh and piquant, with round and lush fruit and stimulatingly salty acidity on the finish that reveals fine grip. Not as pure and filigreed as the dry Graacher, but for many consumers, it will be the more digestible wine, I assume. 11% alcohol. Screw cap. Tasted in September 2021.

2020 is another excellent vintage for the Schaefer family. Although only one Auslese has been produced and no higher predicate, 2020 is a great vintage in terms of quality, even though the Schaefers "had to deal with conditions" they "have never had before." However, this "very exceptional year" has brought an impressive range of stimulating Kabinett and gorgeous Spätlese Rieslings.

"Winter was dry and mild," wrote Christoph and Andrea Schaefer. "We were therefore pleased by the generous rainfall in February. The following very warm and dry months brought an unusually early flowering, so we were already aware of a very early harvest by the end of May. Even though it was very dry, we sometimes had a bit of rain—at least in Graach. Unfortunately, one rainfall was also accompanied by hail. Our first impression was that the damage was negligible. But later in the year, it was obvious that many berries were affected by hail. Along with sunburned berries, this led to time-consuming selections, but essential for the final quality."

Obviously, the Schaefers did a tremendous job. The wines do not reflect any problems with rot, unripeness or bitterness. A few taste a bit too reductive for my taste, and the Himmelreich Grosse Lage (GL) is surprisingly rich for Willi Schaefer's filigreed style, but this will all develop well over the years in the bottle. Namely, the Prädikate from Kabinett to Auslese are highly elegant, finessed and animating.

"Before picking, we went even more often to the vineyards to taste the grapes than we usually do. 'Is it really possible that we have to start picking that early?' This was our daily question."

"With the start of our harvest season on September 14, summer celebrated its comeback. We sometimes had to interrupt picking already in the early afternoon because of the heat. At times, it was unbearably hot. Temperatures rose to 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit), which interrupted the maturation process until the end of September, because the vines switched into a 'self-preservation' modus to protect themselves. On the positive side, this 'natural brake' enlarged our time window to do pre-selections quietly in all of our vineyards. This enabled us to pick Kabinett wines with lively acidity as well as fine Spätlese wines during this period. Toward the end of September, it cooled down enormously, and it also rained a bit from time to time. Around October 8, we received more rain and deferred picking more grapes until October 14 to let them dry again and, of course, to get more concentration and taste in the berries. Finally, we got the chance to select more very noble Spätlese grapes. On October 17, we luckily finished the picking season with marvelous Auslese grapes in the Domprobst vineyard."

If readers would like to try a dry Riesling from this domain, I strongly recommend opening the 2020 Graacher Riesling trocken, which I clearly prefer to the off-dry version due to its precision and piquancy.

89+ points SR robertparker.com