"This gorgeously light Spätlese is all about elegance."

- Mosel Fine Wine

Willi Schaefer is one of our favorite producers in all of wine. Their steely and elegant Rieslings have been a pillar of the store since we opened.

In all of that time, we've never offered the Spätlese #10 by itself. That changes today. In 2016, the Spätlese #10 is such a startling success that it demands the spotlight.

How good the Spätlese #10 is brings into focus the strength of Schaefer's 2016s. They are amazing in their mineral clarity and luminous finesse.

Out of the two Spätlesen that Schaefer often releases from Domprobst (#s 5 and 10), the #10 is the more mineral and linear of the two

and #5 is more about layered fruit. There's no doubt that it's easy to overlook the subtlety of the #10 next to the #5. However, its quietly elegant beauty captures Schaefer's serene precision in a very special way.

The 2016 Spätlese #10 is one of the most compelling vintages of this wine that we've tasted in some time. The #10 capitalized on the qualities of the vintage in an extraordinary way.

The 2016 vintage in Germany saw a rainy first half and nearly ideal weather for the remainder. August brought warm temperatures encouraging good ripeness levels and fall allowed for long leisurely harvesting with cool nights that crystallized the wines' wonderful clarity of fruit.

In this vintage, #10 achieves a beautiful citrus-inflected, sleek elegance. There's a beautiful delicacy. Above all, the wine is about salty and slate-y minerality.

Few producers anywhere in the world are loved as much as the Schaefer family. Over the years, we've come to believe that Schaefer's wines are close to bulletproof when it comes to aging. We're really excited to watch the 2016 Spätlese evolve.

To order, please email us at offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.

Joe Salamone

Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits