2022 Robert Weil Kiedrich Gräfenberg Trockenbeerenauslese Half Bottle 375ml, Rheingau

Half Bottle 375ml

A giant TBA that shows why the nobly sweet riesling wines of this category are a legend. Tasting this is like gazing into a deep abyss with a vast depth of dried exotic fruits, complex exotic spices and floral honey. Huge structure and an acidity that’s vibrant enough to wake the dead. Very limited production. Still needs many years of bottle age to reach its youthful best.

99 points Stuart Pigott jamessuckling.com

The intensely golden-colored 2022 Kiedrich Gräfenberg Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese is precise, pure and lemony on the pure and savory/stony nose. On the palate, this is a generous and rich but savory, saline, citric and textured TBA with an enormously long and complex finish. This is a great TBA that already drinks quite well but will be even better in 30 and up to 80 years. It is absolutely precise, elegant and balanced yet still not seamless. 8% stated alcohol.

98 points Stephan Reinhardt robertparker.com

The thick and syrupy texture makes you want to pour this over your crêpes—and you probably wouldn't regret it. However, this is pure excellence in the glass, with an earth and mineral component that is contributing to the already complex palate. Honey, apricot, lime and spice notes converge, all supported by a brilliant acidity. Starts out creamy, yet its freshness makes it easy to enjoy. A perfect way to end a meal.

98 points Aleks Zecevic wineenthusiast.com

Alcohol: 8 % | Acidity: 12.4 g/L | Residual sugar: 260.5 g/L

“Where would the Rheingau’s tradition of high-end Riesling dessert wines be today if it weren’t for Wilhelm Weil’s modern masterpieces in the style?” 

Stuart Pigott, Best White Wine on Earth: The Riesling Story

Weil is widely considered one of the true greats of the sweeter Prädikat styles. One of the keys to this estate’s success with these wines is that the mountainous, rocky setting of the Kiedricher Berg vineyards allows for a perfect balance between natural sweetness, mouth-watering freshness and pungent, intense minerality.

These wines are staggeringly beautiful. They are all don’t-miss wines. As is so often the case, Weil’s 2022 Gräfenberg Spätlese exhibits textbook balletic poise between the wine’s natural sweetness and laser-like acidity. The grapes for Weil’s Auslesen were harvested without any botrytis influence. It is the kind of iridescent wine that has helped shape Rheingau’s legend for the past two centuries. What little botrytis did arrive in 2022 came in late October, giving the estate the opportunity to craft homoeopathic doses of BA and TBA. If your budget stretches this far, you will be rewarded with two of Germany’s more celebrated wines.