1998 Robert Weil Kiedricher Gräfenberg Riesling Eiswein #31, 375ml

Robert Weil is a 160-acre estate in the Rheingau region of Germany. Though wine was being produced in the area as far back as the 13th century, Robert Weil estate was founded in 1875 when Robert Weil, a German who was a professor in Paris, returned to Germany and bought vineyards near the town where his brother was minister of a country church. The estate is still run by the Weil family and it is considered by reviewers to be one of Germany’s most outstanding producers of Riesling. Robert M. Parker Jr. has written that Weil’s Kiedrich Grafenberg vineyard “would be a grand cru in France,” and that the Riesling that comes from the vineyard “remains the single greatest wine of the Rheingau.”

Rheingau is considered one of the finest of Germany’s great wine districts. Its 8,000 vineyard acres are planted primarily to Riesling, and the Rieslings of Rheingau are noted for their steely character. In recent decades producers have also started planted Pinot Noir, called Spatburgunder in Germany. Historically the most famous Rieslings of the Rheingau have been the very sweet Beerenauslesen and Trockenbeerenauslesen styles, but as the market for dry wines has increased, younger Rheingau winemakers have begun producing dry Riesling, harkening back to methods used before the 20th century. By 2005 nearly 85% of the Rheingau Rieslings have been dry wines.