Weingut Robert Weil

Viticulture with a dazzling past at Weingut Robert Weil

The German Weingut Robert Weil in the Rheingau region has a long tradition of ecclesiastical and aristocratic viticulture. As early as 1867, Dr. Robert Weil acquired his first vineyards on the Kiedricher Berg and, eight years later, settled in Kiedrich by taking over the estate of the aristocratic patron of the arts Sir John Sutton. Previously, Robert Weil had worked at the Sorbonne in Paris but had to give up his chair in the run-up to the Franco-Prussian War.

In addition to his newly discovered activity as a vintner, Robert Weil worked as a journalist. Nonetheless, he devoted his energy to his newly acquired estate and gradually expanded it with new vineyard parcels in the Kiedricher Berg sites. His ambition was the highest quality, and thus Weingut Robert Weil was soon able to celebrate international success. His Riesling Auslesen were delivered to many imperial and royal houses of Europe and served as white counterparts to the great Bordeaux wines.

The bourgeoisie also drank Weil’s Rieslings around the turn of the century. From the Hotel Adlon in Berlin to the grand hotels of other major metropolises, the wines from Weingut Robert Weil were served.

In 1920, Robert Weil handed over the fortunes of the estate to his son Dr. Wilhelm Weil. He was politically active in wine matters, and thus Weingut Dr. Weil was registered in the then VDP as early as 1907. He guided the company through the difficult war years and subsequently led it back to former successes. From 1959, Dr. Wilhelm Weil’s son Robert Weil again continued to run the estate. Since 1987, the great-grandson of the founder, Wilhelm Weil, has been at the helm of Weingut Robert Weil and has led the winery into the modern era. A trained vintner, he made farsighted investments in the cellar and vineyards and introduced the Tiffany blue label. He does not use herbicides and fertilizes the partly more than 50-year-old vines exclusively organically. Intensive, selective hand-picking at Weingut Robert Weil seldom begins before October and involves up to 17 passes. The result is internationally acclaimed, high-quality Rieslings.

The Robert Weil Rieslings

The Rieslings from Weingut Robert Weil are shaped by the special characteristics of the Kiedricher Berg sites. This makes the Weil Rieslings elegant and complex at the same time. They owe their worldwide renown and their status as symbols of German Riesling culture to this inimitable stylistic signature.

The 90 ha of vineyard area of Weingut Robert Weil are planted exclusively with Riesling. With a focus on sustainability, work in the vineyard and cellar is carried out with strict quality orientation and controlled environmental protection. Fertilization is purely organic, the vineyards are grassed, and herbicides are not used.

The Weil Rieslings are available in dry and fruit-sweet styles; the wines are not only perfect as food companions but also cut a fine figure on their own. Fine acidity, natural residual sweetness and extract harmonize perfectly and give the Weil Rieslings their unique character. The vineyards of Weingut Robert Weil are among the best in the Rheingau and are located in the foothill zones of the Taunus ridge. The up to 50-year-old vines have a planting density of 5,000 to 6,000 vines per hectare.

The grape harvest and vinification

At Weingut Robert Weil, the harvest rarely begins before October and then lasts at least 8 weeks. Hand-picking is strictly selective, with up to 17 passes through the vineyard. In this way, all Prädikat levels up to Trockenbeerenauslese are harvested. Since 1989, this process has been followed year after year without interruption. The grapes are then processed very gently. Transport is carried out using vibrating grape trailers, so that the grapes are brought to the presses according to the vertical principle. After gentle pressing, the musts flow by gravity into the collection tank cellar, where they are pre-clarified by natural sedimentation.

Which vessel is chosen for which wine depends on the intended style of the wine. Full-bodied and dry wines are fermented and matured in large wooden casks, as this allows them to develop complex structures through micro-oxidation. The lighter, fruit-driven and noble sweet wines are matured in stainless steel, as this best highlights their finesse and elegance. Fermentation is temperature-controlled and, where possible—depending on the harvested fruit—spontaneous over 6–12 weeks. After fermentation, maturation and filtration, the wines are bottled quickly and gently. In this way, the primary fruit is transferred to the bottle without loss of aroma and continues to mature there.

The classifications

The Robert Weil wines are available in four classifications:

• VDP.GUTSWEIN
• VDP.ORTSWEIN
• VDP.ERSTE LAGE®
• VDP.GROSSE LAGE®

The vineyard sites

• Kiedricher Turmberg: VDP.ERSTE LAGE®
• Kiedricher Klosterberg: VDP.ERSTE LAGE®
• Kiedricher Gräfenberg: VDP.GROSSE LAGE®