Robert Weil was established in 1875 by Dr. Robert Weil, a university professor who turned to winemaking after purchasing a vineyard in the Rheingau village of Kiedrich. His vision was to create dry and mineral-driven Rieslings of uncompromising quality.
Like Italy and France, Germany has more than its fair share of revered historic hillside vineyards. Few of these can match the history and majesty of the Gräfenberg in Rheingau’s Keidrich Valley. Planted in the 12th century by the monks from Kloster Erbach, it was then known as mons Rhingravii, the mountain of the Rhine Counts. By the late 19th century, Dr Robert Weil’s Gräfenberg Rieslings were superstar wines of their day. Indeed, we could consider them amongst the first ever ‘icon wines’; the legendary 1893 Auslese traded hands for sums far exceeding Bordeaux or Burgundy’s top growths.
When you visit the Weil estate, it does not take long to figure out why the vineyards of Kiedrich have been referred to as the Côte d’Or of the Rhiengau. The Gräfenberg is particularly well-sited. Reaching up to 60% gradient in some places, it is among the region’s steepest vineyards, and the vines face south to west, benefiting from the evening sunshine and aerated by fall winds from the Taunus Mountains. Another asset is the metamorphic phyllite soils, which limit yields and offer the deep root systems good access to water. The growing season is long and slow; it is not uncommon for Weil to harvest noble grapes deep into December.
To express our admiration for Robert Weil's wines, we want to share this insightful quote: ""The famous blue label of the estate has become the symbol of the highest quality of German wines. Only a few wine estates can boast such a continual and high level of overall quality,"" by Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve, Great Wines of the World.
