| The Gräfenberg | |
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The appellation "Kiedricher Gräfenberg" has been used to designate the estate's finest wines since its first vintage in 1868. The vineyard is situated east of Kiedrich on a southwestern-facing slope with an inclination of up to 60%. The deep and medium-deep soils of stony, fragmented phyllite mixed with loess and loam and the balanced microclimate are inherent to the site's "terroir" - ideal conditions for producing Gräfenberg Riesling wines of great elegance and finesse. Since its first mention in the 12th century, the "Berg der Grafen" (literally, the "Hill of the Counts") was a specific site highly regarded by the aristocratic families who settled in Kiedrich. Even in early wine literature (1765, 1865) the Gräfenberg is ranked as one of the Rheingau's top vineyards. A Gräfenberg Riesling wine from the 1893 vintage helped spread Weingut Robert Weil's renown far beyond the borders of Kiedrich. The Auslese from the "Kiedricher Berg" was delivered to many European emperors and kings. In 1900, the royal court of Austria purchased 800 bottles at sixteen gold marks per bottle, an astonishing price in those days. Those were the years when Riesling wines from the Rhine were the most expensive growths in the world of wine and Riesling's worldwide reputation reached new heights - an image enjoying a renaissance today. The treasure chamber of the estate's cellar houses great vintage rarities that date all the way back to the legendary Auslese of 1893. |
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