Depth and Detail
2004 Willi Schaefer
Domprobst Spätlese #9
Back-Vintage Willi Schaefer Rarity
One Parcel Only!
"...you should be able to enjoy following it for at least two decades – if, that is, you can get your hands on enough of it to last for that long!"
-David Schildknecht, Wine Advocate
I've written this before, but, the more I drink Schaefer Rieslings, the more I realize, on a very deep level, how simply profound these wines are. They have a quiet, calm perfection, an ease and a grace that few other wines, anywhere, have.
It's as if everything truly great, was also very easy.
In the U.S. the Schaefers enjoy an almost religious following - supply is a perennial problem. They run a jewel box estate of just under four hectares. In other words, every bottle the Schaefers make is a rarity.
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So, if chance would have it one comes upon a parcel of back-vintage Willi Schaefer, I'd say buy. In fact, I'd say buy deep.
The Schaefers rarely miss and I remember loving the 2004ers when they came out - brisk Mosel Rieslings that contradicted the wiriness of the vintage with deeper-than-average concentrations, with lovely ripe fruit that whistled a high-toned, sunshine-lemon-zest tune.
The wines glowed.
I bought some and, well, as Schildknecht alludes to in the quote above, I drank them all many years ago.
So it was a rare treat to come upon a parcel of the 2004 Domprobst Spätlese #9 - a wine that at 8 years young is just beginning to enter its prime drinking window, though hold as much as you can for another ten years because I have the sense this is only going to get more faceted, deeper, more nuanced and agile and glowing.
This was one of those bottles that got opened up as soon as it entered the store. There's really not much more to say than this is just beautiful Mosel Riesling, beautiful Domprobst.
Right on opening, the palate was awake, featuring a brisk, honey-fresh nose, with pineapple and mineral - details of lemon zest and lime to add high-toned edges. While all of Schaefer's wines are calm, this is a surprisingly powerful wine, showing all the muscle and depth of Domprobst.
Even after the bottle was opened for a few hours the wine remained energetic on the palate, silky and zippy at the same time - lip-smacking and refreshing, an artful balance of sugar and acidity.
This is a vintage of classically structured wines - in the right hands, from the right vineyard, they are magical wines and this is a prime example... not only of the vintage, but of what aged Spätlese can do, its versatility, the push and pull of sweetness and acidity, the incomparable expression of slate and wet stone.
This is a magical bottle and the informed cellar will have... should have, as much as it can get.
To order, please email us at offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Stephen Bitterolf
Wine Director
Crush Wine & Spirits