This cuvée is a blend of fruit from high altitude Estate vineyards - including the brilliantly named Sandgrub vineyard - dotted around the village. There's a good dollop of wine from Wasseros too, a steep, southwest facing vineyard that abuts the Gräfenberg vines. The medium-to-deep soils here are composed of stony, fragmented phyllite interlaced with loess and loam. The fruit for this 2015 was picked at Spätlese level, bringing remarkable depth for this level that works beautifully to complement the wine's vibrant, crunchy acidity and mineral intensity. This may be Weil's first level wine but it is simply far too good to be called 'entry level'. Tasted blind you would be sure you were tasting a benchmark.
A small region of 3000 ha along the Rhine River, the Rheingau produces stunning wines from Riesling and Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir). The landscape of the region varies from steep slatey terraces to the west, to gently rolling hills and plains in the east. Despite being one of the most northern regions of Germany, it is able to produce some of the richest, ripest Riesling and Pinot Noir owing to most vineyards possessing a southerly aspect thus receiving sufficient sunlight and heat. Rheingau’s wines have ample body, richness and concentration while still retaining piercing acidity and minerality. The Prädikatswein from Rheingau tend to have higher alcohols (8-12%) and less sugar for each category compared to the wines of the Mosel. The best vineyards producing the highest quality wines are located around the villages of Rudesheim, Geisenheim, and Johannisberg.
Weingut Robert Weil is a prestigious Rheingau producer with a history of grape growing dating from 1875. The original estate vineyards included some of the best sites on the Kiedricher Bergslagen and early wines were eagerly sought by the royal houses of Europe. Today the wines of Robert Weil are internationally revered as some of Germany’s finest Rieslings. The 65 ha estate produces a number of Riesling wines from highly regarded sites including: Rheingau Trocken, Kiedricher Trocken, Rheingau Spätlese, Kiedrich Turmberg Trocken and Spatlese, Kiedrich Klosterberg Trocken, Kiedrich Gräfenberg Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese and Erstes Gewächs Riesling Trocken. Robert Weil is part of the distinguished Großer Ring Verband Deutscher Prädikats- und Qualitätsweingüter (VDP) organisation.
