2019 Willi Schaefer Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spätlese #8 - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (2/6/2021)
First look at the 2019s from Schaefer, and it has all the expected precision, mineral depth, and focused brightness that seems to emerge every vintage. This isn’t the most acidic, nor is it acid deficient. It’s balanced. Apples, white peaches and a squirt of lemon juice blended with clear, cool stream water meets up with a light dusting of residual sugar, like an early winter snowfall. Ultimately it’s a gentle wine, not a bruiser Spätlese, that whispers “come closer”, rather than bellowing for attention. We invited it for dinner, and it was very pleasant company.