Willi Schaefer’s wines from the Mosel’s Grosse Lage (Grand Cru) vineyards, ‘Himmelreich’ and ‘Domprobst’, can be counted among the world’s most pure and expressive Rieslings.
Today the 12th century estate is run by Willi’s son Christoph and his wife Andrea – both oenology graduates of Germany’s prestigious Geisenheim University. The couple farm 4ha of century-old, ungrafted Riesling vines around the village of Graach.
Such is the Schaefers’ dedication to quality that fruit is hand-harvested berry-by-berry over a four-week period, before being gently pressed and fermented with natural yeasts in old, 1,000-litre casks.
Coveted by fans of German Riesling with as much passion as the bottles of J.J. Prüm and Egon Müller, Willi Schaefer’s wines are quintessential Mosel.
