Willi Schaefer Graacher Feinherb Riesling 2021

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

“It is important to us that our Rieslings are light, playful and yet very strong in character. They should reflect their origins. The DOMPROBST is rather spicy and wild and the HIMMELREICH is more fruity and charming. Our wines should remain appetizing and never be sticky-sweet. We also prefer our dry Rieslings to be light in alcohol. The tremendous minerality gives the wines tension and flatters the fruit sweetness as a counterpoint. We don’t like to talk about analyses. One should taste the wines and form one’s own opinion. For us, perfect Riesling is something magical and refined, perhaps something like a dream. Light and yet tasty, long-lasting, playful and with incredible ripening potential.”
Christoph Schaefer

About Willi Schaefer

An ancestor of the Schaefer family was mentioned in a vineyard donation already in 1121. In addition, records show that the Schaefers have been cultivating vineyards since 1590. Johann Schaefer (1809–1878) married Anna Catharina von Meyerbach (1808–1878) in 1935. Her noble coat of arms is still on today’s label.

The estate is all of 4.2 hectares with no desire to grow. Since 2015, Christoph Schaefer and his wife Andrea run the family winery in Graach, the pair met while studying oenology at Geisenheim. Their winemaking philosophy is not much different than that of Christoph’s father or grandfather.

I learned a lot from my father. I think he also gave me the peace and serenity that allows me to concentrate completely on the wine when it matters most. I also had a wonderful grandfather, who achieved a lot in the post-war period and saved every last cent for today’s winery building. He and his wife were real “creators”.

Christoph Schaefer

In the Vineyard

Although Graach is just a stone’s throw away from Bernkastel, the clocks seem to tick differently here: Graach is contemplative, placid, and is located at the foot of the imposing steep slopes, which is only separated from the Mosel River by the riparian plains. With these vineyards, we have a treasure that has no equal. In a south-to-southwest exposition, the grapes grown on these steep slopes have sun throughout the day. The deep, weathered clayey slate soil, together with the rather cool climate of the Mosel, and the perfect sunlight, is a paradise for Riesling. Numerous water veins in the hillside guarantee an optimal water supply. No wonder that everything is still planted seamlessly here.

The Romans already knew the benefits of Graach’s sites and cultivated vines here. In the Prussian classification of the Mosel vineyards from 1816 to 1832, Graach’s vineyards had the highest ratings.

As one can see by the names of the sites even today, the Catholic Church was the primary owner of the Graacher vineyards till secularization in 1803.

Compared to the wines just slightly northwest in Zeltingen, the wines from Graach show cooler green and white tones rather Wehlen and Zeltingen’s more orange and red flavors. These wines perfectly reflect this unique terroir and show the distinct differences between these two sites right next to each other. Domprobst is more mineral, smokier, shadowy, and takes longer to emerge while Himmelreich is buoyant, more floral, lighter in texture, and is open from day one.

In the Winery

To tap the potential of each individual site, we rely on our sense of taste and our gut feeling. Before the harvest, we go through the vineyards and sample the grapes in every single plot. What counts is the taste of the grapes.

Therefore, we don’t stubbornly rely on measurable data, such as the amount of Oechsle or acidity. Only when we’re completely convinced that ‘it’s time’, do we begin our selective harvest. If you’re personally satisfied with the taste of the grapes, then the wine will taste good, too. We rarely look at the analysis.

The same goes for the must. During fermentation, we sample very often to see when the balance between sweetness and acidity, plus structure, are perfect. Here, also, we trust our feeling and not numerical values.
The fermentation takes place with natural yeasts from the vineyard mainly in old 1,000-liter Fuder casks. In the cellar, we try to intervene as little as possible and accompany rather what nature has provided us. We give the Rieslings the time in the cellar that they need. Therefore, a long lees contact and a late bottling are self-evident.

In the cellar we simply try to preserve the quality that nature has given us. If we have suitable grapes for a dry Riesling, then we also ferment dry. But if I am convinced that the must is better suited for a semi-sweet wine, the fermentation is interrupted as soon as the balance is perfect. We ferment with wild yeasts in classic Fuder barrels. Depending on the vintage, it can occur that there is no dry wine or only Spätlese and Auslese wines. That is nature.

Christoph Schaefer

The 2021 Vintage at Willi Schaefer

Firstly, we would like to mention that 2021 belongs to the category “small but beautiful.” We are very happy about the intense and energetic “village” and Kabinett wines, which in terms of quantity is the focal point of the vintage. Spätlese wines are very rare, Auslese wines almost non-existent. Our one and only Auslese is a real beauty from Wehlener Sonnenuhr. Due to its tiny quantities, we’ll probably sell it only at the annual auction of the VDP.MOSEL towards the end of this year.

But now to the year itself: The winter was persistent; the spring was wet and cold. We patiently had to wait for warmer temperatures. An unusually cold April led to a three-week delay in the vines’ development. This delay saved our vines from frost damage at the beginning of May. Flowering followed at the end of June, which was common in the past.

In contrast to 2020, the 2021 summer was very wet. On the one hand, the rain was good for the growth of the vines. On the other the weeds and fungal diseases also loved these conditions. This resulted in lots of work in the vineyards, but we were more than happy about our great team, who managed everything perfectly.

Due to the rather cool summer in 2021, the grapes ripened slowly and developed fine aromas and high extracts. Already in the early summer, it was obvious that we had to expect pretty low yields.

On 4 October 2021, we slowly started with the picking. Within many plots, we found an uneven and diverse maturation of the grapes. So, we decided to pre-select all of our vineyards. The remaining grapes could then take advantage of the longer hang time to get perfect ripeness. It was extremely time consuming to pick that selective but also necessary to receive ideal results. Often, we had to select berry by berry. But luckily our team was more than patient. The temperatures during harvest were moderate. This allowed us to do this “fussy” work in a relaxed manner. The classic “Mosel morning fog” welcomed us almost every day. Sometimes it was very persistent until the early afternoon.

The remaining grapes developed marvellously into noble, golden yellow fruit, but not in terms of concentration for an Auslese, with the exception of the very small quantities of Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese.

After four weeks of harvesting, we luckily finished on 29 October 2021.

The result is very promising. As mentioned above, the vintage’s focus is on the clear and bright village and Kabinett wines. Spätlese wines are rarities and Auslese almost non-existent. The young wines are full of energy and intensity, along with multifaceted fruit components, good juiciness, and acidity. Already at this early stage, the young wines have a long finish together with great elegance. A true pleasure and joy!

Weingut Willi Schaefer, February 2022

Where in the World is Willi Schaefer?

Willi Schaefer is in the middle-Mosel based in the township of Graach. Their most important vineyards are Graacher Domprost, Graacher Himmelreich, and Wehlener Sonnenuhr.

The German VDP has an excellent interactive map covering the wine growing regions of Germany. Clink on the Map to go to the live version.