External search
Google (images)
Wine Advocate
Wine Spectator
Burghound
Wine-Searcher
Vintages
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
Show more
From this producer
Show all wines
All tasting notes
|
| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.1 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 15 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by MC2 Wines on 3/5/2023: Nice bit of sweet to end the evening. Drinking well. (917 views) | | | Tasted by NickBurwood on 2/21/2021 & rated 90 points: Perhaps (half) bottle variance is coming into play. Compared to my previous note the balancing acidity had significantly diminished and so, while the taste profile was much the same (and remains still in the excellent bracket), the excitement had gone. Comes to all with age!!
One more to go and while earlier notes support my consume by '24 estimate probably now in the drink-up zone - especially in the smaller format. (1149 views) | | | Tasted by NickBurwood on 4/26/2020 & rated 92 points: Second Dönnhoff of the week albeit the last was a GG! 5yrs since my last (half) bottle but could have been yesterday.
Pineapple core: restrained, clean botrytis-free sweetness and perfect touch of acidity for balance. No diesel. A brilliant fresh but concentrated simple wine and another seemingly immortal riesling. Perfect accompaniment with our strawberry and blueberry Pavlova.
Now and till 2024 (and probably well beyond). (1265 views) | | | Tasted by acyso on 2/2/2019 & rated 93 points: #16-00, 8.5% abv. From half-bottle. A bit of a weaker vintage, for sure, with the rot here showing a little bit dirty. Fairly dark in colour, though nothing here really points to poor storage. There's a hint of apricot jam on the nose, as well as some caramel and spice. The palate's attack is brilliant, promising lots of sweetness and complexity, but the midpalate and finish seem to taper off, and there's a little bit of unclean rot here, but overall, this is still a splendid bottle of auslese. (2209 views) | | | Tasted by acyso on 3/10/2018 & rated 90 points: Indianapolis IV; 3/9/2018-3/11/2018 (Indianapolis, IN): #16-00, 8.5% abv. From half-bottle. To be sure, this isn't a strong vintage, and I think it shows on the midpalate when this hollows out a bit. But at the same time, the light, ethereal quality of Dönnhoff is on full display here. The attack here is ripe and powerful, and the finish is lifted and light (the weak midpalate notwithstanding). (2463 views) | | | Tasted by salil on 3/10/2018 & rated 80 points: Not impressed by this - the most disappointing wine I've had from Donnhoff in some time. The aromatics are pretty, offering plenty of bright fruit, honey, and spice, but the palate is hollow and flat, showing little in terms of either depth or energy. It feels soft and creamy in the manner of some of the weakest '99s I've had, with very little complexity. (2999 views) | | | Tasted by acyso on 9/9/2017 flawed bottle: #16-00, 8.5% abv. From half-bottle. Oxidized enough that this wasn't too pleasant to drink. (2331 views) | | | Tasted by acyso on 5/25/2017 & rated 93 points: #16-00, 8.5% abv. From half-bottle. Perhaps not the greatest Nahe vintage, but this wine provides incredible pleasure nonetheless. The nose truly demonstrates what Terry Theise has called the ethereal quality of the Doennhoff wines -- it is light and airy, but simultaneously packed with ripe yellow fruit and a hint of red as well. The palate is not too rich, but showing lovely balance between the sweetness and acidity. The fruit is ripe, but not overly so, and there is no heaviness here. Some green apples linger on the finish, which is marred by a slight touch of bitterness. (2047 views) | | | Tasted by daghaug on 3/20/2016: Fersken og aprikos på duft, et lite snev av petro og kanskje noe mandler. Godt utvikla, men ok friskhet i munnen, relativt lett for fedmen. Lang ettersmak av marsipan som ender i litt bitterhet. En vin i godterisjangeren, men med litt ekstra kompleksitet og motstand. (1850 views) | | | Tasted by sweetstuff on 1/1/2016 & rated 91 points: AP 16 00, 8.5 pabv; Terry Theise; $36.50 after buyer's premium; Leland Little Auctions. (There is an Auction Wine with this same label but different AP number). Cork-finished. Up-textured gold-green, in an Impitoyable. Wonderful aged-botrytis notes with powerful and vivid honeyed apricot, but without a bit of diesel. Still fairly sweet and juicy-tart, underlain by tart-sweet Nahe cherry, raspberry, and bacon fat; at first with some softness mid-palate, and pleasant, integrated finish. After an hour or so open and stoppered in the refrigerator, gets more punch in the middle and gains a nice lime-peel flavor there. Barbara says, 'nectar of the gods'. Ready to drink but many years may be ahead of well-stored bottles. 91/100.
On January 3: warm candle wax with a hint of smoke, and crisp apricot. The wine comes forth as simple but luscious, juicy but fruity, a delight.
My friend Andrew and I made some Confit d'Oie (roast goose potted in its own fat) and what a marvelous flavor to have in the mouth when this dessert wine is sampled! We used the bones to make a demi-glace which will I'm sure appear in future recipes, as well, and give us plenty of experimenting with other Rieslings! (Including the 2000 version of this wine, one of the great accomplishments of that very tough vintage, and which was included in the auction lot with this one.) The Cassoulet I made yesterday from the goose demi-glace and the goose meat, lamb, andoille, and salt pork, couldn't be set off by a more pleasant ending.
Happy New Year! (1602 views) | | | Tasted by NickBurwood on 11/8/2015 & rated 91 points: Continues to impress in its very simple manner.
Botrytis and diesel free, the focussed, pineapple dominated, exotic fruit flavours remain to the fore in the wine's delicate frame. The sweetness is understated and integrated.
Excellent and must be good for at least 25 years from vintage. (1678 views) | | | Tasted by cweiss on 12/13/2014: PF. Quite sweet, dense yellow fruits. Good for sure but heavier than I'm used to from Donnhoff. I'll gamble on saving my other bottle for a few years. (1741 views) | | | Tasted by NickBurwood on 12/7/2014 & rated 91 points: A half bottle uncorked 15 minutes before pouring.
No botrytis on the nose - or diesel - just ripe exotic fruit, predominantly pineapple, that carried forward to the palate. Fresh, clean, light-bodied but very focussed. Mostly sipped before dessert arrived (due to failure to switch on oven!) and drank very well on its own due to its fruit- rather than honey-driven restrained sweetness.
Excellent in somewhat minimalist way. In spite of its relative delicacy, must be good for at least twenty years from vintage ? gaining more complexity with age. (1756 views) | | | Tasted by pereik on 5/29/2011 & rated 90 points: Captivating nose of exotic fruits, with pineapples and passion fruit as primary association. Sweet, and with just enough acidity to counter a sticky mouthfeel. Medium+ consentration. (1665 views) | | | Tasted by RationalDenial on 8/26/2008: Honey dripping off of new Dunlops. A luscious mouthfeel, with beautifully integrated mineral, acid and sweet elements. This was not a syrupy, jammy Auslese. It had plenty of sweet, but it was oddly light. Could have drunk this all day. On the surface, this was genius. But there didn't seem to be much depth or complexity. Sometimes simple is as simple does, Gump. (2552 views) |
| By David Schildknecht
Vinous, January/February 2001, IWC Issue #94
(Hermann Donnhoff Oberhauser Brucke Riesling Auslese) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| 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. JHT1999 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Auslese GoldkapselAP 16 00 jhtRiesling Varietal character (Appellation America) | A short history of Riesling (Uncork) | Riesling (wikipedia)Auslese Goldkapsel"Goldkapsel" is a gold cap. It is SOMETIMES used as an unofficial, internal quality level mainly for Auslese. There are many exceptions to this rule, and if you want to look foolish exclaim 'ah, a goldkap' wine for an example for which such makes absolutely no difference, as all Ausleses from that estate and vineyard have gold tops. A good example is Dönnhoff.
Auslese Goldkapsel for an estate using this designation is usually richer, sweeter, and more expensive than the ordinary version. Often it is more botrytis-affected too. The term is never mentioned on the label, but the Goldkapsule bottlings are identified by the gold cap only.
Some producers use the gold capsule as a signal of a bottle of superior quality, some not. A gold cap can mean a sweeter or a botrytis affected 'dessert' style wine here, without any claim of superior quality. Good example is Molitor (Mosel), although with recent developments there this may no longer be true.
As a refinement on the above, for some estates there are more than one gold capsule wine in a category, such as Auslese or Eiswein or even Spätlese. When this occurs the only sure means of identification is the AP number appearing on each bottle of quality wine (Qualitätswein) since 1971. Sometimes there are long gold capsule wines (LGK for short), too, which may be difficult to distinguish except if one happens to have a sample of each type of bottle to do a direct comparison. Here too the AP number can help if you have a list of what was put out under what number.
All this happens frequently enough to make it desirable to have a list of every AP number used by every bottler in every vintage year, but as far as I know this is not available, nor is it likely to be anytime soon. Sometimes the producer website can help, and another help is often David Schildknecht when he was reviewing for the Wine Advocate, who tried to list all AP numbers where there is likely to be a need for them. I see that he has continued that policy at Vinous. jhtOberhäuser 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 |
|
