2017 Riesling Kabinett

Despite the extent to which late April, 2017 frosts defied convention by inflicting damage in many steep and high-elevation vineyards, Wilhelm Weil presumes it was the proclivity of his steep Kiedrich sites to actively channel downdrafts that kept them protected even while so many other Rheingau vineyards were having their young Riesling shoots frozen. His vines also escaped any significant August 1 hail damage. And it won’t come as too much surprise to those familiar with the wines of this estate – or even just with my reports on them – to learn that the rigorous viticultural strategy prevalent here kept rot largely at bay. Harvest began in earnest near the beginning of October – which is relatively early for Weingut Weil – and it was over (including the 29th consecutive selective-picking of Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslesen) by month’s end. I was not surprised given the significant share of vintage 2017 German Rieslings that evince some similarities to Chablis, to discover that a slight resemblance routinely present in dry wines from Kiedrich’s top sites was accentuated in this vintage. It’s striking how (with the exception of a somewhat severe dry wine) the bottlings from Weil’s monopole Turmberg – notwithstanding its VDP classification as an Erste- as opposed to a Grosse-Lage – outshone his 2017s from the flagship Gräfenberg. Conceivably, this might – like the outstanding showing of Weil’s dry 2017 from the Klosterberg – be attributable to advantages of higher altitude in a vintage with stressful mid-summer heat and drought. It could also be that the Gräfenberg bottlings – which, heaven knows, are already very impressive in their own right – need more time to signal their full potential. Less surprising is that with the exception of the aforementioned Klosterberg, Weil’s vintage 2017 bottlings are noticeably more complex and delicious in the realm of prominent residual sugar than in that of legal Trockenheit. (For Wilhelm Weil’s perception of 2017, see my introduction to this entire report on that vintage in the Rheingau and Mittelrhein.)

Just to renew a bone of contention with my friend Wilhelm Weil: While I recognize his desire to conform to the VDP’s classificatory “pyramid” by offering generic bottlings, I continue to find it somewhat demeaning as well as potentially misleading for wines of such distinguished and terroir-imprinted quality as his Kabinett and Spätlese that are sourced from the traditionally and justifiably lauded Kiedricher Wasseros vineyard to not even be paid the respect of bearing the village name “Kiedrich” on their labels. Especially given the image of Weingut Robert Weil as a very large estate – not a misperception: it encompasses 222 acres – I suspect consumers might imagine that such generically-labeled wines must involve blending across multiple communes (as is the case for Weil’s entry-level Gutsriesling bottlings, and would be the case with generic Prädikat bottlings at other addresses). The more appropriate and entirely accurate image to convey is of an estate that now controls in addition to its Turmberg monopole not just the overwhelming majority of the 27-acre Gräfenberg but a major share of both the Klosterberg and Wasseros Einzellagen; in short, an estate devoted solely to Kiedrich and viticulturally dominant in Kiedrich not just qualitatively but, at least when it comes to that commune’s hillside vineyards, quantitatively as well. (For much detail on this estate’s history, vineyards and present practices, consult the introductions to my reports on its 2014s, 2015s and 2016s.)