"Unrepentant Elegance"
-John Gilman
2012 Willi Schaefer Himmelreich
Grosses Gewächs
It's difficult not to approach this email with a sense of excitement and with dread.
Willi Schaefer turned out a stunning collection of 2012s, especially this Grosses Gewächs entry. I'm happy to offer such a beautifully clear and slate-laden world class Mosel dry wine.
The issue is that this will sell out in a flash. Willi Schaefer only has 4ha and, while never in good supply, Schaefer's GG is in even shorter supply in 2012. It's only available at two other retailers in the country.
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I'll keep this short - there's no point in fanning the fire.
The 2012 vintage in Germany is defined by the way it combines purity, concentration and a vivid mineral expression. They are just gorgeous wines.
Willi Schaefer Himmelreich GG shows the outrageous clarity of the vintage with an intense yet ultra-fine expression of white peach, apple and lemon zest mixing it up with a stunning array of slate and flowers.
What's immediately impressive about Schaefer GG is its refinement, persistence and incredible detail and harmony. This is breeding and careful winemaking taken to the extreme.
The wine is sourced from a small, low-yielding parcel of the Himmelreich, and some of the vividness of the wine must be attributed to the low yields. Christoph Schaefer says they've always found the Himmelreich to be more suitable for dry wines; the airiness of the fruit, its purity and scale being more adaptable to the rigid confines of the acidity.
As I mentioned earlier, this is very limited. This will come back to bite me, but for lovers of Schaefer and Mosel Riesling in general this isn't to be missed. Please give us your ideal order and we'll do our best.
To order, reply to offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits
John Gilman: "The 2012 Himmelreich Grosses Gewächs is going to be a beautiful wine, as it tips the scales at a cool and classy twelve percent alcohol and is resplendent in purity and unrepentant
elegance. The vibrant bouquet is a blend of grapefruit, tart orange, a beautiful base of slate, lime blossoms and gentle notes of the petrol to come with bottle age. On the palate the wine is
medium-full, pure and utterly refined, with a fine core, lovely focus and balance, ripe acids and superb length and grip on the nascently complex finish. Give this superb wine two or three years
to start to blossom before pulling any corks!"