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Robert Weil

Twin Peaks: Diamonds of the Rheingau
Robert Weil
Like Italy and France, Germany has more than its fair share of revered historic hillside vineyards. Few of these can match the history and majesty of the Gräfenberg in Rheingau’s Keidrich Valley. Planted in the 12th century by the monks from Kloster Erbach, it was then known as mons Rhingravii, the mountain of the Rhine Counts. By the late 19th century, Dr Robert Weil’s Gräfenberg Rieslings were superstar wines of their day. Indeed, we could consider them amongst the first ever ‘icon wines’; the legendary 1893 Auslese traded hands for sums far exceeding Bordeaux or Burgundy’s top growths.

When you visit the Weil estate, it does not take long to figure out why the vineyards of Kiedrich have been referred to as the Côte d’Or of the Rhiengau. The Gräfenberg is particularly well-sited. Reaching up to 60% gradient in some places, it is among the region’s steepest vineyards, and the vines face south to west, benefiting from the evening sunshine and aerated by fall winds from the Taunus Mountains. Another asset is the metamorphic phyllite soils, which limit yields and offer the deep root systems good access to water. The growing season is long and slow; it is not uncommon for Weil to harvest noble grapes deep into December.

Rob was recently fortunate to taste three eras of Weil’s dry Riesling from the Gräfenberg, and he posted a blog recounting the different generations of this vineyard and its wine. What is particularly interesting are the similarities in the growing and winemaking spanning almost a century: organically grown vines, low yields, natural fermentation and extended lees aging in old oak casks. But then, that is the point. Wilhelm Weil’s aim has long been to replicate the style and quality of those celebrated full-bodied dry wines produced in the Rheingau a century ago.

The 2022 release is an outrageously impressive wine: deep yet full of driving precision, stunningly delicious yet tightly wound, with the power to keep improving for decades. I’m sure our wine-loving descendants will look back and say that we were lucky to live in an era when somebody could still purchase a wine of this quality for half the price of a 1er Cru white Burgundy! The same, however, may not be said of Weil’s newest label, Monte Vacano. Drawn from an ancient Katasterlage (lieu-dit) on the steepest and stoniest section of the Gräfenberg, Weil’s rarest and most costly dry wine is already a wine for the few. Just two 1,200-litre barrels are produced of a wine that makes many a Grand Cru Burgundy look inelegant by comparison. What goes around comes around.

The Wines

Robert Weil Kiedrich Gräfenberg Grosses Gewächs Riesling Trocken 2022

Robert Weil Kiedrich Gräfenberg Grosses Gewächs Riesling Trocken 2022

The vineyard of Kiedrich Gräfenberg—or ‘hill of the counts’—has been used to designate Robert Weil’s finest wines since the site was officially classified Weinlage 1 Klasse in 1867. Home to Weil’s oldest vines (up to 80 years of age), with the majority on their own rootstock, it makes perfect sense that Wilhelm Weil decided that it was only from this site that his Grosses Gewächs would derive (even though he could release three GGs from his single vineyards).

Despite the high quality of the Turmberg and Klosterberg, this is clearly on another level. It’s finer, even more complete and subtly powerful—a wine of obvious Grand Cru class. This year, the GG was raised for 10 months (instead of 12) on lees in large, neutral oak Doppelstückfässer (large Stockinger casks). When you think of what we are paying now for top-notch Grand Cru white Burgundy wines, Weil’s remains an absolute bargain, matching the best of them for class and quality. Few (if any!) could match it for longevity.

“Deep and ripe nose with fine apricot, mango and papaya aromas. Stunning concentration, the ripeness and creaminess married to a wonderful mineral freshness that keeps this compact wine moving steadily over the palate. Giant, yet very precise finish. Great aging potential.”
97 points, Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com
“Picked in several passages over five days like the premier crus, the 2022 Kiedrich Gräfenberg Riesling Trocken GG opens with a noble, very fine and elegant yet, most of all, intense and complete (or complex) bouquet of ripe, yellow-colored fruits, iodine and the features of a richer, less stony yet mineral-rich terroir. Full-bodied and of polished elegance on the palate, this is a rich, utterly complex and balanced, densely textured and saline-finishing Gräfenberg with lots of (well-dosed) power, grip and tension. This is an impressive wine and one of the Rheingau highlights (at least). enormously saline and vital also in the aftertaste, this is a Riesling symphony.”
96 points, Stephan Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate
“The 2022 Riesling Kiedricher Gräfenberg Grosses Gewächs has a notion of tangerine alongside yellow plum, followed by yellow plum skin and citrus peel. The palate is juicy, almost bouncy, with Reine Claude's vividness, pervaded by zesty, ripe lemon resting on a gentle layer of yeast. It's concentrated, almost allowing glimpses of more distant, tropical fruit, yet all within that frame of citric freshness. It shows tautness, linearity, direction and energy with Weil’s drive, yet it is always cool and dynamic. We only see a fraction of this power at this point, but it is undoubtedly there. Subtle citrus perfume denotes elegance, but the muscular elegance gets you. Wow.”
96 points, Anne Krebiehl MW, Vinous
Robert Weil Kiedrich Gräfenberg Grosses Gewächs Riesling Trocken 2022
Robert Weil Kiedrich Gräfenberg Grosses Gewächs Riesling Trocken 2022 (1500ml)

Robert Weil Kiedrich Gräfenberg Grosses Gewächs Riesling Trocken 2022 (1500ml)

The vineyard of Kiedrich Gräfenberg—or ‘hill of the counts’—has been used to designate Robert Weil’s finest wines since the site was officially classified Weinlage 1 Klasse in 1867. Home to Weil’s oldest vines (up to 80 years of age), with the majority on their own rootstock, it makes perfect sense that Wilhelm Weil decided that it was only from this site that his Grosses Gewächs would derive (even though he could release three GGs from his single vineyards).

Despite the high quality of the Turmberg and Klosterberg, this is clearly on another level. It’s finer, even more complete and subtly powerful—a wine of obvious Grand Cru class. This year, the GG was raised for 10 months (instead of 12) on lees in large, neutral oak Doppelstückfässer (large Stockinger casks). When you think of what we are paying now for top-notch Grand Cru white Burgundy wines, Weil’s remains an absolute bargain, matching the best of them for class and quality. Few (if any!) could match it for longevity.

“Deep and ripe nose with fine apricot, mango and papaya aromas. Stunning concentration, the ripeness and creaminess married to a wonderful mineral freshness that keeps this compact wine moving steadily over the palate. Giant, yet very precise finish. Great aging potential.”
97 points, Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com
“Picked in several passages over five days like the premier crus, the 2022 Kiedrich Gräfenberg Riesling Trocken GG opens with a noble, very fine and elegant yet, most of all, intense and complete (or complex) bouquet of ripe, yellow-colored fruits, iodine and the features of a richer, less stony yet mineral-rich terroir. Full-bodied and of polished elegance on the palate, this is a rich, utterly complex and balanced, densely textured and saline-finishing Gräfenberg with lots of (well-dosed) power, grip and tension. This is an impressive wine and one of the Rheingau highlights (at least). enormously saline and vital also in the aftertaste, this is a Riesling symphony.”
96 points, Stephan Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate
"The 2022 Riesling Kiedricher Gräfenberg Grosses Gewächs has a notion of tangerine alongside yellow plum, followed by yellow plum skin and citrus peel. The palate is juicy, almost bouncy, with Reine Claude's vividness, pervaded by zesty, ripe lemon resting on a gentle layer of yeast. It's concentrated, almost allowing glimpses of more distant, tropical fruit, yet all within that frame of citric freshness. It shows tautness, linearity, direction and energy with Weil’s drive, yet it is always cool and dynamic. We only see a fraction of this power at this point, but it is undoubtedly there. Subtle citrus perfume denotes elegance, but the muscular elegance gets you. Wow.”
96 points, Anne Krebiehl MW, Vinous
Robert Weil Kiedrich Gräfenberg Grosses Gewächs Riesling Trocken 2022 (1500ml)
Robert Weil Monte Vacano Riesling Trocken 2021

Robert Weil Monte Vacano Riesling Trocken 2021

Within Kiedrich’s Gräfenberg Grand Cru lies a small 0.5-hectare parcel once known as the Gräfenberg-Lay. Sitting in one of the steepest portions of the vineyard, the Lay is located at the transition between Gräfenberg and Turmberg and is known for having the highest concentration of phyllite slate on the hill. The vines here are now between 40 and 60 years old.

This site was originally purchased by Dr Robert Weil in the 19th century, using the dowry from his marriage to Emilie von Vacano (a descendant of the Vacano family in Lombardy). The wine from this parcel, called Monte Vacano (the Hill of Vacano), was always produced and bottled alone. It was used only for celebratory occasions and never released for sale. Following Weil's death in 1921, the tradition of Monte Vacano fell dormant, and the fruit was incorporated into a regular Gräfenberg bottling.

Compared to the Gräfenberg GG, Monte Vacano trades power and richness for exceptional purity, elegance and detail. Resurrecting the old custom, 2021 marks the fourth Riesling in a century solely from this special lieu-dit. It was harvested in October, and the grapes were whole bunch-pressed into two ancient refurbished Stückfässer (1,200-litre casks), where the wine fermented spontaneously and spent almost two years on lees before bottling.

“Bottled in July 2023 after 21 months on the first lees (one year after the Gräfenberg), the 2021 Monte Vacano, from a particular plot of the Gräfenberg, is an intensely yellow Riesling that opens with a pure, intense, even rich, finely saline and mineral nose with citrus notes. Round and elegant on the palate, this is a full-bodied, rich, intense, textural, enormously long, complex and saline, stimulatingly precise and tannic Monte Vacano with the power and richness of the Gräfenberg paired with the precision and salinity of the Castellum Montis. It is more hedonistic, although from a cooler year, but very, very long, saline and savory. Definitely a wine made for generations.”
97 points, Stephan Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate
A huge and compact wine for the challenging 2021 vintage, but with the firm structure and vivid acidity that are typical for the vintage. Complex aromas of red gooseberry, white peach, fresh herbs and just a hint of sealing wax. Then comes the tidal wave of a finish that is stony and herbal in the best sense. From the steepest and stoniest section of the Grafenberg.”
97 points, Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com
“The 2021 Riesling Monte Vacano is named after Wilhem Weil’s great-grandmother. Her dowry bought a vineyard parcel within the steepest part of the Gräfenberg, bordering the Turmberg. It is a slightly later ripening site. The nose has notions of dried fruit, with an orange peel edge against a hazelnut background. The fluid palate is rounded, compact, smooth, concentrated and vivid, like a droplet of gold. Lemon notes give the 2021 its freshness. It's luminous in the most compact fashion possible. The mouthfeel is creamy and rich without an ounce of fat. The 2021 is a profound crater of schist, filled to the brim with fruit. Texturally, it is like the gentle brush of a cat's paw. Limited release. (Bone-dry).”
97 points, Anne Krebiehl MW, Vinous
Robert Weil Monte Vacano Riesling Trocken 2021

“Weil is widely seen as the jewel of Rheingau.” Jancis Robinson, Financial Times



“Robert Weil has been one of the icons of German wine culture for many years. Nothing but the finest Rieslings are produced. And as more than 100 years ago, the wines are distinguished in terms of their origins and their style.” Stephan Reinhardt, The Finest Wines of Germany



“Another of Germany's most celebrated domaines, Weil’s wines are noted for their richness and purity, delivering lots of citrus and fruit concentration, without ever seeming heavy or ponderous.” Rajat Parr & Jordan Mackay, The Sommelier’s Atlas of Taste

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