Description
“Wilhelm Weil made one of the standout ranges of 2020s and there are even a couple of wines that top the 2019 vintage.” Stuart Pigott, Jamessuckling.com
“The 2020s are possibly the most fascinating collection of the last 30 years. Although no wine stands out tower-high above the others, the dry Turmberg can, in my opinion, take on the Gräfenberg for the first time.” Stephan Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate
Having been absent from Europe for a full two years, it was not until late last week that we got the opportunity to mark Weil’s 2020 report card. For his part, Wilhelm Weil is impassioned with the qualities of the vintage, noting that the “balance of extract, acidity and sweetness is just about perfect in our Kiedrich Rieslings.” Having tasted through the releases, now it is us who are crowing.
There has not been a chink in this esteemed grower’s amour since I-don’t-know-when, so while quality was never going to be in question, it is the style of Weil’s 2020s that has really floored us. Where 2019 was a year of scintillating, pent-up drama and tension with wines built for the cellar, the Rieslings this year are more exuberant, sculpted and uniformly delicious. From a year where Weil harvested about 50% less than the long-term average, even the estate’s top crus of Klosterberg and Turmberg are already licenced to thrill, primarily due to the season’s benign harvest conditions, but also perhaps as a consequence of extended aging on lees.
None of this should suggest the 2020 wines lack freshness or staying power, quite the opposite. The wines are stimulating, with the full ripeness of the grapes precisely harnessed by a seamless glade of powerful, rounded and driving acidity. The quality and class are evident from the very first wine (the Rheingau Trocken), and the wines become more nuanced, intense and overtly mineral as you head up the range. Summarising the vintage, Weil explains that “We could not have asked for anything more” from 2020. We could not agree more. Anyone buying, drinking, or cellaring these beauties will be greatly rewarded now and well into the future.
