Christoph and Andrea Schaefer run one of the jewels of the Mosel. From just four hectares, they produce an extraordinary range of pure, delicate wines that brilliantly reflect their terroirs. The two main sites are in the Graacher Himmelreich and Domprobst, and no other grower is able to showcase the differences between the two vineyards so clearly in their wines: the forward, fruit-driven and seductive charm of the Himmelreich, and the deep, complex mineral and fruit tones of the Domprobst. How do the Schaefers do it? With their palates: rather than relying on instruments to measure ripeness levels and acidity, they taste the grapes to decide on a harvesting date; during pressing, the juice is tasted to see when it’s time to stop, and during fermentation, each cask is tasted repeatedly to decide when the perfect balance of sweetness and acidity has been achieved, and when it should be arrested.
The Schaefer wines are not the most giving at first; like the Prüm wines, they need a little time to settle down before showing their best. But patience is rewarded with glorious terroir wines that are understated but characterful.
The growing season was relatively easy in Graach, with enough rain to prevent the vines from shutting down, and deep soils providing a good water supply. The harvest began earlier than usual, on 14th September, and a good quantity of beautifully healthy Kabinett grapes were gathered. During this time, the team also cleared any unhealthy grapes, so that when rain came there was no danger of rot. After that it was stop and start, and a vintage reckoned to last three weeks stretched into five.
Christoph was very pleased with the results. The juice was delicious, with perfect ripeness and high levels of tartaric acid, a lot of which dropped out during fermentation, making the wines more digestible and elegant. These are properly authentic, hand-crafted Mosels, with the estate’s customary magical transparency, and they are absolutely delicious.
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£65.00 per Bottle
£195.02 per Case
£49.71 per Bottle
£149.13 per Case
Magnum - 150cl
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£32.00 per Bottle
£192.04 per Case
£24.44 per Bottle
£146.64 per Case
Bottle - 75cl
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£25.50 per Bottle
£153.01 per Case
£19.02 per Bottle
£114.12 per Case
Bottle - 75cl
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