DÖNNHOFF
Nahe (Germany)
• Helmut Dönnhoff, the first to be honoured the “Seigneur du vin” (The Lord of Wines)
• 4 times 100 point from Robert Parker.
• 5/5 grapes and “Vintner of the Year 1999” from Gault Millau
• 5/5 stars, “Best White Wine Collection of the Year 2012” and “Winery of the Year 2012” from Eichelmann
At the beginning of his career, Helmut Dönnhoff would make every style of wine from everywhere but he soon realised that each site, with its own soil and micro-climate, is only best suitable for certain styles of wine. It then took him some twenty years to learn the secrets of his different vineyard sites and now only best wines for each parcel are made. His ice wines made from the Oberhäuser Brücker site, for example, have received 4 times 100 points from Parker and achieved a cult status. Nowadays, Mr. Dönnhoff is a living legend and widely regarded as one of the best vintner in Germany. His wines were praised nationally and internationally as one of the best wines of the world.
DÖNNHOFF
RIESLING DRY 2018
TASTING NOTE
Nose of apple, lemon, peach, white flower and honey. On the palate, fresh and fruity with great balance between ripe acid and residual sugar. Very precise and elegant. Middle body with middle long fruity finish.
กลิ่นหอมของแอปเปิ้ล มะนาว พีช ดอกไม้ขาว และน้ำผึ้งในปาก สดชื่นและฟรุ๊ตตี้ สมดุลเยี่ยมระหว่างแอซิดและความหวานสะอาดและสะโอดสะอง บอดี้ปานกลาง จบยาวปานกลาง และเต็มไปด้วยผลไม้
DÖNNHOFF
TONSCHIEFER RIESLING TROCKEN 2016
TASTING NOTE
Robert Parker, “Mainly from the Leistenberg, the 2016 Nahe Riesling Trocken “Tonschiefer” is Dönnhoff’s “designer jeans” wine. It opens with a pure bouquet with lovely cool, piquant aromas of wet slate and ripe white fruits. On the palate, this is a juicy-piquant, clear and fresh Riesling with exquisite purity and lingering salinity on the finish. It is fresh and very stimulating in its bright and elegant fruit. The finish is quite powerful.”
DÖNNHOFF
KRÖTENPFUHL RIESLING KABINETT 2015
TASTING NOTE
Nose of apple, lemon, peach, white flower and honey. On the palate, fresh and fruity with great balance between ripe acid and residual sugar. Very precise and elegant. Middle body with middle long fruity finish.
กลิ่นหอมของแอปเปิ้ล มะนาว พีช ดอกไม้ขาว และน้ำผึ้งในปาก สดชื่นและฟรุ๊ตตี้ สมดุลเยี่ยม ระหว่างแอซิดและความหวานสะอาด และสะโอดสะอง บอดี้ปานกลาง จบยาวปานกลางและเต็มไปด้วยผลไม้
DÖNNHOFF
FELSENBERG GG RIESLING 2018
TASTING NOTE
Robert Parker, “Bottled in July, just two days before I tasted the 2018 Schloss- böckelheimer Felsenberg Riesling trocken –GG– for the first time, the nose was ripe and generous but fine and flinty-mineral. Lush and salty-piquant, this is a full-bodied, rich and powerful yet vital Riesling with lots of body but also tension, purity and grip. Tasted again in August 2019.”
Jancis Robinson, “Imagine a cool mountain stream running through a citrus-fruit grove and you might be in the mountains of Mallorca, on the other hand you may just be inhaling the ethereal fragrance of Dönnhoff’s Felsenberg. On the palate the delightfully zesty citrus fruit gets a fine sprinkling of mineral dust, tingling acidity and some indefinable savoury piquancy that leads to elation.”
DÖNNHOFF
FELSENBERG GG RIESLING 2017
TASTING NOTE
Jancis Robinson, “Spirit of Melissa, eau de vie de mirabelle, gentle and pure fragrance. The palate takes you from mellow to vibrant, sporting highlights of ripe yellow fruit, stony minerality and invigorating acidity. A rich texture invites the taste buds to relax before they find themselves in the grip of a long chewy tactile finish. A Grosses Gewächs that puts the palate through its paces.”
DÖNNHOFF
FELSENBERG GG RIESLING 2016
TASTING NOTE
Robert Parker, “From Schlossböckelheim’s stony, volcanic soils, the 2016 Nahe Riesling Felsenberg “GG” ‘Felsentürmchen’ offers a very pure and delicate bouquet of crushed stones and ripe seed fruits. Lush and intense on the palate with generous but finessed fruit, this is a very elegant and well-structured Riesling with great balance and a long, salty-piquant finish. Very long and powerful yet pure and very charming.”
Jancis Robinson, “Nose, with a hint of hazelnuts, promises a particularly dense wine. Broad and confident with some real richness as well as massive acidity. This one should run and run.”
DÖNNHOFF
FELSENBERG RIESLING GG 2014
TASTING NOTE
Robert Parker, “Deep, very clear and stony/smoky on the coolish and aristocratic nose opens the 2014 Riesling Felsenberg GG ‘Felsentürmchen’. Medium to full-bodied, very mineral and highly elegant on the palate, with ripe and well balanced fruit, and a long and salty finish, this is a great and quite flowing Felsenberg from the volcanic Felsentürmchen plot straight under the restored tower.”
DÖNNHOFF
FELSENBERG GG RIESLING 2013
TASTING NOTE
Robert Parker, “The 2013 Schlossbockelheimer Felsenberg Riesling Grosses Gewachs is very clear and subtle on the nose but rich and powerful on the palate, so quite sweet at the moment and less transparent and finesse-full than the Höllenpfad but dense, concentrated, piquant, powerful and persistent. It is expressive but still very young.”
Jancis Robinson, “The Felsenberg exhibits one of the most intricate fragrances of any of the 2013 Grosse Gewächse with aromas of hay, meadow flowers, yellow fruit and the merest of herbal notions. Add to this a mouth-watering acidity and creamy texture, and you have a charming, complex and elegant cru deserving of the attribute great. ”
DÖNNHOFF
Dellchen GG Riesling 2018
TASTING NOTE
Robert Parker, “The 2018 Norheimer Dellchen Riesling trocken –GG– is brilliant, pure and fresh on the nose, with super ripe and dried white-fruit aromas on the nose. Round, lush and elegant on the palate, this is a rich yet elegant, pure and crystalline Riesling that tastes somewhat sweetish on the finish right now. Tasted three days after bottling in July 2019.”
Jancis Robinson, “As pure as the driven snow is just an old cliché, but one might be tempted to leave the description there in view of the inadequacy of words to describe the sophistication of the Dellchen. The fruit is filigree, the minerality cool and invigorating, the acidity exhilarating. Proof that opulence and power are not the be all and end all of great Riesling.”
DÖNNHOFF
Dellchen GG Riesling 2017
TASTING NOTE
Robert Parker, “From slate and volcanic soils, the 2017 Norheimer Dellchen Riesling trocken –GG– is very delicate and fragrant on the deep, crystalline and flinty, slightly buttery, nutty and nearly peppery nose. Milled or weathered stones. Pure, dry and fine on the medium-bodied palate, this is a very long, complex and juicy, highly finessed and singing Dellchen with great finesse and many layers. Tasted at the domain in July 2019.”
Jancis Robinson, “Purity of fragrance with plenty of local orchard fruit, supported by a fine floral hint. Although the texture is mouth-coating and viscous, subtle peel notes and a vibrant acidity keep the taste buds alert. Finally a stony minerality gets a real grip on the long finish.”
DÖNNHOFF
Dellchen GG Riesling 2016
TASTING NOTE
Robert Parker, “From slate and porphyry soils, the 2016 Nahe Riesling Norheimer Dellchen “GG” is very pure, precise and mineral on the elegant, subtle nose, where ripe seed fruit aromas are displayed. Very sensual! Full-bodied, rich and round, this is a highly elegant, intense and dense Riesling with a persistent finish. Very aromatic and sensual, but it needs some time to gain even more finesse.”
DÖNNHOFF
Dellchen GG Riesling 2013
TASTING NOTE
Robert Parker, “The 2013 Norheimer Dellchen Riesling Grosses Gewachs is a fascinating Riesling with a transparent and flinty/minerally and slightly citric nose, very clear, bright and complex. The palate is rich and juicy, quite round and mellow but also piquant, spicy, tension-full and intense. This is a great, powerful wine full of potential. To be served in 5 years from now.”
Jancis Robinson, “Never the biggest puncher among the Grosse Gewächse, the Dellchen tends to state its case through elegance and finesse, and in this way 2013 does not differ from preceding vintages. It would be true to say that the acidity is more pronounced in this vintage, giving the wine a very lively character and very subtly chiseled purity. It is probably a little less fruity than in previous years, but does have a fine herbal finish to produce the customary complexity.”
DÖNNHOFF
HERMANNSHÖHLE RIESLING GG 2018
TASTING NOTE
Robert Parker, “The 2018 Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling trocken –GG– is fascinatingly pure and fragrant on the nose. Crystalline, lush and intense, this is a full-bodied, crystalline, precise, salty and persistent wine with linear tension, great grip and intensity. Tasted in July 2019.”
Jancis Robinson, “Crystal-clear fruit of mirabelle with the purity of the finest Alsace eau de vie. Add the most delicate fragrant touches of white peach and Williams pear and you are in fruit paradise, though it’s titillation not exuberance this fragrance excels in. The palate works in a similar way, putting exhilarating freshness before juicy abundance. Take a fine sprinkling of mineral rock dust, add the merest hint of exotic spice, and you have a contender for greatest Grosses Gewächs of 2018.”
DÖNNHOFF
HERMANNS. RIESLING AUSLESE 2018
TASTING NOTE
Robert Parker, “The 2018 Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese is deep and noble in its finesse and purity that is paired with notes of crushed stones but also perfectly ripe and healthy fruits. Lush and piquant on the palate, with lingering salinity and finesse, this is the more graceful Auslese, which is less challenging than the Brücke but very delicate and finessed. The acidity is finer and the sweetness smoother and more charming yet less dramatic right now. Tasted in July 2019.”
Jancis Robinson, “Herbal grapefruit aroma, even a touch of dried grasses. Tight, sweet, pure lemon and apricot fruit. Silky texture and great balance for a very sweet wine. Almost thick in the mouth but finishes fresh.”
DÖNNHOFF
HERMANNS. RIESLING AUSLESE 2015
TASTING NOTE
Robert Parker, “The 2015 Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese is lovely, clear and flinty on the nose and, like the Spätlese, is characterized by its noble aristocracy, but also lemony freshness and great purity. There seems to be more crushed stones than grapes in this wine, which reflects a lot of the fastidious selection and the healthy condition of the processed grapes. On the palate, this is a generous and concentrated, but pure, piquant and buoyant Auslese of great expression and finesse. This vibrating wine is dancing over the palate, leaving loads of minerals and salts, which makes this a dangerous drug. The finish is piquant and salty–you simply can’t stop drinking and adoring it. There is so much grip, tension and finesse here.”
DÖNNHOFF
HERMANNS. RIESLING AUSLESE 2011
TASTING NOTE
Robert Parker, “One of three products of botrytis selection in this site that extended into January, the Donnhoff 2011 Niederhauser Hermannshohle RieslingAuslese gold capsule strikingly combines custardy richness of texture and honeyed ennoblement with bright acidity; a wellspring of primary juiciness; and salinity that will milk you salivary glands for all that they are worth. Fresh orange with its candied rind; white peach jelly with piquancy of pit fruits; buddleia and lilac; passion fruit, nut pastes and vanilla cream add to the luscious allure of this remarkable libation. A faint aura of truffle and musk emerges with airing – no doubt pointing toward the extremely late picking of by then relatively mature yet still fine botrytis. Dynamically multidimensional, yet sharing with its Brucke counterpart a soothing sense of harmony, this almost endlessly fascinating as well as endlessly lingering wine deserves to be followed for three decades.”
DÖNNHOFF
Brücke RIESLING Auslese 2007
TASTING NOTE
Robert Parker, “The 2007 Oberhaueser Brucke Riesling Auslese A.P. #38 – which was auctioned – represents the traditional feinste Auslese. Over-ripe pear, quince, and intriguing – perhaps in part orchid-like – floral perfume fill the nose, accompanied by a nose-tweaking pungency of botrytis spice, and the palate is saturated with liqueur-like essences of orchard fruits and liquid gardenia and lily. This rich amalgam displays incredible finishing penetration, with coiled springs of bright citrus releasing to produce a shower of minerals and cinders; a scintillating interplay with the wine’s fruits and flowers; and an uncanny sense of sheer lift. Expect at least three decades of drama.”
DÖNNHOFF
Brücke RIESLING Auslese 2004
TASTING NOTE
Robert Parker, ““Here is where ambition sets in,” remarks Donnhoff of his decision to harvest the 2004 Oberhaueser Brucke Riesling Auslese A.P. #21. Stringently selected for more botrytis than the #16, this Auslese is positively ethereal in aroma, featuring pure botrytis, honey, jellied red currant, distilled red raspberry, peppermint and brown spices. The palate is as bright, honeyed, and oily in texture as the nose leads one to imagine, and as buoyant and elegant as the best wines here today would lead one to hope. One has the impression of spiced and tangerine zest-studded red fruits glazed with honey and folded into vanilla cream. Botrytis might get more obvious or advanced, but it can scarcely be nobler than in this instance. Yet for all that, the wine is so refreshingly, succulently, fresh- fruitedly juicy that it seems capable of quenching the deepest thirst. “Fruit cubed” I ventured? and, no, I wasn’t thinking of Jell-o! The purity, penetration, reach and concentration of the finish are truly extraordinary, and I was beginning to fear at this point that adjectival as well as sensory overload – or possibly an Alice experience – were but one more sip away.”
DÖNNHOFF
Brücke RIESLING Eiswein 2008
TASTING NOTE
Robert Parker, “Scents of radish, lemon zest, and apricot preserves along with an ominously smoky prickle in the nose usher in a palate of Eszencia-like viscosity, apricot nectar concentration, delicacy (at only 7% alcohol) and complete absence of superficial sweetness. This finishes with piercing intensity and dazzling complexity, adding black tea; sea salt; ginger; seedy, tart red raspberry; and honey to the apricot jam and lemon. it’s like a razor-sharp saber slathered in oily, ambrosial jelly and suspended in mid air. Few if any Eiswein of the vintage approach this for intricacy, refinement, or classic Eiswein character. I expect whatever portion of its 300 liters that is not drunk sooner to astound for at least two and perhaps three decades.”
DÖNNHOFF
Tonschiefer Riesling 2021
TASTING NOTE
Robert Parker “The 2021 Riesling Tonschiefer is from slate soils in Oberhausen (Leistenberg and Hermnnshöhle) and offers a clear, intense and salted bouquet of crushed rocks and white stone fruits. Supple yet light and fresh on the palate, this is a piquant and finely tannic, stimulatingly salty Riesling with lush fruit on the finish, which is still a bit edgy but only as rugged as the landscape around Oberhausen. 12% stated alcohol. Screw cap. Tasted at the domaine in July 2022.”
DÖNNHOFF
Felsenberg Riesling GG 2021
TASTING NOTE
James Suckling “A rough diamond that is harder than almost anything else in the known universe! Radically stony and quite smoky, too. Ample body with ripe acidity that’s not at all pointed, yet this is a pretty austere wine with enormous drive at the bold finish. From organically grown grapes with Fair’n Green certification.”
DÖNNHOFF
Dellchen Riesling GG 2021
TASTING NOTE
Robert Parker “From slate and volcanic soils, the 2021 Dellchen GG opens with a radiant, bright, pure and flinty bouquet with fascinating, refined and subtle, highly elegant yet delicate mirabelle and Amalfi lemon fruit intertwined with slatey notes. The bouquet is heavenly to me (and will be, believe me, for all true Riesling lovers). Mahler’s 8th symphony, Fausten’s Ascension—it’s all here. Subtle intensity, a sense of wonder, perfectly interwoven, natural beauty. This nose already tells everything, and I couldn’t go on to the next wine for more than half an hour. On the palate, this is a subtle and delicate, highly filigreed yet also incredibly intense, lush and slatey, long, stimulatingly saline and always uplifted Riesling with perfectly ripe and lush fruit with fine tannins. It is a juicy, ripe wine with crystalline acidity and endless salinity that carries everything. This Dellchen is intense yet never gets heavy, but it becomes even more intense. This is immaculate, highly emotional Riesling. It’s not just the most beautiful Dellchen I have ever tasted but certainly also the most fascinating dry Riesling I have ever had. This is pure art. An adorable wine and with so much soul. It can’t be expensive enough. When Helmut Dönnhoff was speaking about the feminine, charming and tender character of the cru, it is all here. 13% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted at the domaine in July 2022.”
DÖNNHOFF
Hermannshöhle Riesling GG 2021
TASTING NOTE
Falstaff “The nose reveals ripe citrus aromas, candied orange peel, kumquat, and slate notes. The palate has a classy astringency, in which crunchy acidity, perfectly balanced texture and deep minerality are perfectly integrated. This is a demanding, enthralling single-vineyard Riesling for the long haul.”
DÖNNHOFF
Brücke Riesling Spätlese 2021
TASTING NOTE
Falstaff “Orange peel on the aroma and palate. Sweetness and acidity play with each other, and there is a pot of cream and white pepper on the edge of the pitch. The slate soil contributes to the development of the finest acidity. Everything is already finely interwoven.”
DÖNNHOFF
Brücke Riesling Spätlese 2018
TASTING NOTE
Robert Parker “The 2018 Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Spätlese is very intense and aromatic on the dense and voluptuous nose. Lush and creamy on the palate, this is a generous and dense, lush and persistent Brücke Spätlese with remarkable freshness and piquancy. It’s pretty straight and piquant, with remarkable finesse and mineral tension. Tasted in July 2019.”
DÖNNHOFF
Hermannshöhle Riesling Spatlese 2021
TASTING NOTE
Falstaff “The wine has currently settled comfortably into its primary fruit, which is why it could be underestimated, but the extract and acidity indicate that something big is emerging. Evaluating it means making a prognosis – and it is a brilliant one.”
DÖNNHOFF
Hermannshöhle Riesling Spatlese 2019
TASTING NOTE
Falstaff “Complex savoury fragrance, mineral, yellow fruit, citrus and balsamic savoury components. Penetrating minerality on the palate, a sweetness in the middle, and striking acidity. Immense mineral extract. Potential!”
DÖNNHOFF
Brücke Riesling Auslese 2021
TASTING NOTE
Robert Parker “Picked the same day as the GG and the Spätlese on November 8 but with finely shriveled botrytis berries, the 2021 Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Auslese offers a clear and finely lemony bouquet with very fine botrytis tones, even though botrytis was less widely spread here than in the Felsenberg. On the palate, this is a rich and intense yet very precise and filigreed, refined and pure Auslese with an enormously saline and lively, long and energetic finish that shows piquant acidity. Superb. 8% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted at the domaine in July 2022.”
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Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese 2021
TASTING NOTE
Robert Parker “Picked a few days before the GG, the 2021 Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese is based on highly ripe Riesling berries and opens with a clear, lemony, pure, fresh and finely concentrated bouquet with grapefruit, lime and slate aromas. Basket pressed, this is a lush and generous, pure, saline and piquant Auslese with a long, intense and highly stimulating finish with very fine bitters. The Hermannshöhle was picked with the highest must weight and acidity level and represents the most complex and generous yet also precise Auslese of the vintage. 8% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted at the domaine in July 2022.”
DÖNNHOFF
Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese 2020
TASTING NOTE
Robert Parker “The 2020 Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese is another beauty of the domain that has probably bottled one of the finest vintages in history with the 2020s. The nose is pure, fresh and concentrated, with ripe fruit and very fine raisin and citric aromas that are intertwined with sugared grapefruit and crushed slate notes. Mouth-filling, round and delicate on the palate, this is a rich and concentrated yet filigreed and seemingly fragile Auslese that reveals a firm and sustainable mineral structure on the finish that stays on the palate for minutes. Another fantastic, persistently crystalline and salty Auslese from the Hermannshöhle. 8% alcohol. Tasted at the domain in July 2021.”
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Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese 2013
TASTING NOTE
Robert Parker “The 2013 Riesling Auslese Niederhauser Hermannshohleovely is clear and piquant on the pure nose displaying lime and grapefruit aromas in a very subtle way. Really sweet and piquant on the palate, this is a thrillingly salty and persistently minerally wine of great expression and concentration (120 Oe!) and length – an Auslese monument of great expression and joy. It is enormously piquant.”
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Brücke Riesling Eiswein 2021
TASTING NOTE
Robert Parker “Picked on December 22 at about minus-nine degrees Celsius, the 2021 Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Eiswein offers a fascinating, pure, fresh and spicy yet intense and concentrated bouquet of candied grapefruits and lemon fruits. Pretty sweet yet highly refined and elegant on the palate, this is a voluptuous, lush and generous, very intense Eiswein with fine salinity on the finish. Bottled with 207 grams per liter of residual sugar. 8% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted at the domaine in July 2022.”