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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 89.3 pts. and median of 90 pts. in 9 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by sjwshiraz on 1/26/2009 flawed bottle: Half the bottled ullaged after 8 years!!! (4782 views) | | | Tasted by JimVan on 8/2/2008 & rated 90 points: A lovely wine, peaches and stones on the nose, deep yellow fruit flavors with good acidity. One of those wines I just want more of. It is a bit softer than usual from this vineyard and winemaker, but that is a function of this vintage. It is squeaky clean though, and delicious. The sugar is blending in, and I would guess it at its peak about now. No danger of decline though. An excellent bottle for the vintage, or any vintage. (3759 views) | | | Tasted by SuitePhoto on 9/8/2007 & rated 92 points: My First Donnhoff, BYOB to a little Thai restaurant in Carmel. Less than ideal stems and temperature, but still an amazing bottle. Somewhat mute nose at first, some tropical notes but not much else. On the palate, a rush of pineapple, lime, and mango accompanied by wet stone notes that became more prominent over the hour that it took to consume. 45+ second finish with racy acidity that tingled like a kid touching a 9V battery on their tongue. Over time, a very complex nose of wet stone, flint and tropical fruits emerged. Wonderful bottle. 92+ with better stems. (3984 views) | | | Tasted by Spencer on 3/12/2007 & rated 90 points: This tasted mature to me, with notes of botrytis and musky fruit. Well balanced, with bright acidity. Deeper and more complex on the palate than on the nose. Surprisingly, the finish was a bit short. (4450 views) | | | Tasted by Jason on 2/3/2004 & rated 88 points: I did it for science! Last night Eric and I had what I thought was an off bottle of this wine. I had one last bottle left, so I decided to see if it was in fact an off bottle. Interestingly enough, last night's cork was soaked completely through. This cork was soaked 95% of the way through. When will the German estate start using quality corks and not overfilling? At first whiff I was concerned that last night's similar to this one. It reveals little but mustiness, minerality, and woodiness. The palate, however, is remarkably different. My initial reaction on first sip, was "Ah, Donnhoff!!" The palate is lush and mouthcoating. It shows minerality, peaches, and lemons. This lacks the depth and complexity of a great Riesling, but it is a good effort. (4792 views) | | | Tasted by Jason on 2/2/2004: Eric and I went back and forth on whether this wine was corked or oxidized. I believe it was slightly corked but drinkable. Not at all a typical Donnhoff. Nose of cork (not musty), and tropical fruit. Palate was short and restained but showed some of that Donnhoff lushness. (3594 views) | | | Tasted by Eric on 2/2/2004 & rated 86 points: This wine had a fascinating nose of plastic with some hints of diesel and seemed much more advanced than I would expect from a 2000. On fresh pours there was a bit of mineral stink, but I simply could not find any cork on this one. That said, while that wine had very nice acidity on entry I found it to be astringent on the midpalate and clipped on the finished. I think this wine was cooked somewhere along the way, yet despite that it was still quite enjoyable. One could do far worse... (2487 views) |
| Dönnhoff Producer website
U.S. Importer (add'l info)
As a help to those who purchase and cellar these wines, let it be noted that the 'Goldkapsule' does not ofen designate a higher quality bottling from the producer Dönnhoff. Herr Dönnhoff uses gold capsules on about 99 percent of the l bottlings of certain richer wines from the vineyards Oberhauser Brücke and Niederhauser Hermannshöhle and perhaps some others. Therefore it is usually unneccessary and misleading to use the term 'Goldkapsule' with Dönnhoff wines, currently. Although, just to be confusing, David Bueker mentions that there may be one or two exceptions, especially in 2001 and 2003 vintages, where Donnhoff produced "white capsule" auslesen from the Leistenberg and Dellchen vineyards (later Dellchen auslesen have gone to the gold capsules - e.g. 2006). To have to list my notes on a Cellartracker page that has a non-necessary and meaningless 'gold capsule' designation is highly irritating for me, as I feel that if I list it correctly it won't even be picked up by a search.
Another example of the confusion above is with the frequent multiple bottlings of Eisweine from the Brücke vineyard. There were at least three bottlings in 1998 and three in 2002. They occur when prolonged cold snaps allow harvesting on successive days. Usually one of these is designated the 'regular' Eiswein and the best one is sent to the Auction. Each typically has a different style. They are informally referred to by the day of the week on which they were harvested. Thus in 1998 there was a 'Samstag' Eiswein, and one for 'Sonntag' and also 'Montag'. The last named is extremely powerful, and extremely expensive; it is the Auction lot.
It is STRONGLY URGED then that when referring to Dönnhoff wines one refers to the AP number If this terminology is not used, identity can be impossible to determine. JHTRiesling Varietal character (Appellation America) | A short history of Riesling (Uncork) | Riesling (wikipedia)Spätlese Wikipedia article on Spätlese.Oberhäuser Brücke Here you can see why the Brücke is so prone to Botyrtis and Eiswein.
jht: The eponymous Brücke ("Bridge"), also called the 'Leitpoldbrücke', that connects Oberhausen and Niederhausen, has very interesting local connotations, joining a 'Catholic' (Bavarian) town with a 'Protestant' town (Prussian), from south to north respectively. So it actually crosses the boundary between two former German kingdoms and is named for King Leopold of Bavaria. The vineyard below the bridge along the Nahe river was actually part of the Niederhauser Hermannsberg, but was divided off from it and switched municipal 'allegiances' at the behest of the Donnhoff family, that is really the result of a Catholic-Protestant marriage. And the Donnhoffs really do bridge all that is good and fine in the Nahe valley. This vineyard is especially fine for making Botrytis wines and Eisweins. A section of the vineyard is especially planted so that it is easier to harvest an Eiswein here, and some of the most brilliant Eisweins in Germany have been made here, such as the 1998, the 2001, and the 2002 ones. It is often possible to make more than one marketable Eiswein here in a good year for it; the resultant wines, such as the 1998s, are named after the day of the week upon which they were harvested. The 'Montag' of that year is one of the most highly desired great rarities of the German series. When there is more Eiswein than can be used commercially, or that doesn't have the specific character the Donnhoffs look for in these wines, it is used in the other wines from this vineyard, that are often erroneously called 'declassified'. Often the best Eisweine in this series are the Auction wines, late-offered usually at Bad Kreuznach, have gone for tens of thousands of Euros a bottle.
This is Alleinbesitz (wholly-owned) to the Donnhoffs. jhtGermany Wines of Germany | The Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates (VDP) | How to read a German wine label | Geographical Information Down to Single Vineyards
#2014 Vintage Notes:
2014 Vintage Report by Terry Theise
2014 Vintage Report by Wine Spectator
"My gut still tells me the Saar (and to some extent) the Ruwer are better overall in 2014 than the more storied areas of the Mosel proper, but those that spent the requisite time living in their middle-Mosel vineyards made some of the most electric and "feathery" Riesling in a long time (maybe the finest in 20 years - yes, it's true!)" - Jon Rimmerman (Of course only a very short historical memory would call the Saar and Ruwer less 'storied' than the middle Mosel - jht)NaheAn der Nahe erwarten den Besucher sanftes Grün, romantische Flusstäler und dramatische Felsformationen. Dazu gastfreundliche Winzer und ihre vielfältigen Weine.
2.000 Jahre Weinbautradition hat das Anbaugebiet an der Nahe und den Nebenflüssen Glan und Alsenz. Vor kalten Winden durch den hohen Hunsrück geschützt, schaffen milde Temperaturen und viel Sonnenschein ein hervorragendes Klima für den Weinbau in dem regenarmen und sonnigen Tal. Hier wachsen auf rund 4.000 Hektar Rebsorten wie Riesling, Rivaner, und Silvaner. Auch die Spielarten des Burgunders sowie Kerner, Scheurebe, Portugieser und Dornfelder sind hier zu Hause. Lieblingskind der Winzer ist der an Finessen reiche Riesling, ein Viertel der Rebfläche ist damit bestockt.
Eine bewegte Erdgeschichte hat der Nahe-Region eine große Bodenvielfalt beschert. Die Reben wachsen auf Schiefergestein, vulkanischen Porphyr- oder Löss- und Lehmböden. Das ermöglicht eine Vielfalt an Rebsorten und Weinstilen.
Interactive map on weinlagen.info |
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