2004 Robert Weil Kiedricher Gräfenberg Riesling BA

A 2004 Kiedricher Grafenberg Riesling Beerenauslese Gold Capsule displays restrained smokiness, tropical fruit and honey aromas, suggesting purity and a very primary, unevolved personality, which is precisely what the palate – creamy, peachy, honeyed and as yet rather monolithic – confirms. One senses the wine’s far-gone ripeness and enormous sweetness, yet it doesn’t become gaudy or treacly. To an even greater extent than with most 2004s, this allies viscosity and creaminess of texture with an uncanny sense of lightness. Exhibited here is the sort of balance that presages a wine worth cellaring for a half century, so one’s limited ability to assess its character now ought on no account to be held against it. In consequence – and I beg readers to appreciate this – like the wine itself under present circumstances, my rating is restrained. The long finish features peach jam with hints of butterscotch and toasted almond. Wilhelm Weil insists that his 2004s are more consistently ripe than were his 2001s, since the accumulation of sugars this year was more gradual and there was not the extreme contrast presented by a cool, rainy September and a warm October of 2001. “Two thousand four, after all,” he says, “displays the classic virtues we theoretically ascribe to Riesling: long ripening, late harvest, and conditions on the climatic margins.” I found considerable qualitative variation this year, though, on account of factors other than sheer ripeness. That said, the outstanding 2004 Weil Rieslings – and these are in the clear majority – include some breathtaking successes. Furthermore, the quantities behind some of the most exciting of these are far larger than in any previous vintages of this estate. Imported by Rudi Wiest, Cellars International, Carlsbad, CA; tel. (800) 596-9463