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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 92.7 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 18 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Rieslingfan on 5/5/2023: Only been twelve years since I last tried this. Seems prudent to check in. Glad I did, as it’s in a nice place - fully mature, but in no danger of going around the bend. It actually improved quite a lot over the three hours it was open. I might even decant my next bottle. Certainly not for acid freaks, it was more about serenity and depth of flavor. Interestingly the color became lighter the longer it was open, and towards the end it showed a bit more spark. Still pretty typical for the 1999 vintage, which outside of the Saar gave broader wines than typical for German Riesling. (421 views) | | | Tasted by CMN on 8/24/2017 & rated 96 points: Wow. Just wow. Deep yellow colored with a nose of yellow fruits (pear, peach, yellow apple). The nose is OMFG intoxicating...as in "why don't they make an Eau de Toilette of this so I can bathe in it every morning?" I could sniff this all evening...and I darn near did. The flavors on the palate followed the nose, with a beautiful balance of sweetness and acid, appropriate for the pradikat. Superior concentration while still light on the palate. It could perhaps use a touch more acid, but that would be a quibble. This is everything that I want in an aged Spätlese and then some. Near perfect. (1428 views) | | | Tasted by eboracum on 7/7/2014 & rated 88 points: This was a very pleasant bottle but I expect more from Dönnhoff. There was peachy white fruit, attractive herbal and spicy notes, minerals and touches of the usual hydrocarbons, which were all good. However, there was less acidity and backbone than I like in Riesling which made the wine subjectively quite sweet and therefore a difficult pairing. (2876 views) | | | Tasted by salil on 3/4/2014 & rated 94 points: Peach, pear, developed smoky and creamy flavours, and sweeter honeyed elements all coming together seamlessly on the nose and palate. There's plenty of development to the flavours but still great freshness to the fruit, and it's at that point where everything's coming together into a whole that's greater than the sum of all parts. Fantastic. (3430 views) | | | Tasted by Hodby on 1/16/2014 & rated 87 points: Straw yellow color. Medium intensity aroma, of lemon, kerosene, pear and geraniums. On arrival, an acidic lift helps propel this wine into a balanced, moderately intense experience. Some warmth suggesting smoke of a wood fire. Complex, mid-life, neither fully developed not primarily fruit-driven. Medium finish. Bottle #5 of six. (3171 views) | | | Tasted by king-bing on 12/24/2012: Still pretty fruity . White flowers, diesel and later some lime. No hurry on this. (3322 views) | | | Tasted by Rieslingfan on 11/29/2011: I suppose 12 years in a bottle would make me grumpy too, but it took much longer than I would have expected for this wine to come out of its shell. For a good 90 minutes plus it was really soft and lacking in any palate presence or definition. Then some magic happened, and the fruit came out to play with a finishing tactile acidity (slightly disconnected though - like the sting of too tart lemonade) that gave it more than sufficient life to accompany my fish dinner. On its own it really shone though, as its delicate expression was not competing with other elements for the spotlight. Cherry fruit, honeyed peach and warm, washed stones all come together near an old wood fire. Very fine, if not the most attention grabbing wine in the world - that's 1999 for you. (3243 views) | | | Tasted by salil on 10/20/2011 & rated 92 points: Not quite on the level of a bottle I had a couple of years ago at Grand Sich, but really impressive nonetheless. There's bright fruit, minerality, developed smokiness and creaminess with faint touches of spice and florality; very complex and layered with a round, polished mouthfeel - just a touch soft without the acidity or vibrancy of a top vintage, but still very well balanced and lovely to drink. (1985 views) | | | Tasted by Philippe_C on 1/9/2011 & rated 91 points: Light nose of green and yellow apple, apricot... in the mouth, yellow apple, a bit too sweet, a bit green (1918 views) | | | Tasted by j45 on 3/3/2010: A terrific Hermannshöhle Spätlese - transcends the vintage. Rainier cherries, white currants, soil notes. the works. This is the real deal and drinking fantastically now but with potential to reveal more in seven or more years. (1100 views) | | | Tasted by KWC3141 on 10/21/2009 & rated 91 points: Wonderful spat, depth of flavors is impressive. Good apple and pear a touch of apricot, lots of minerality and some white folwers. Lingering finish and full mouthfeel. Spat on (2200 views) | | | Tasted by Keith Levenberg on 3/11/2009 & rated 95 points: Really impressive, best performance I've ever gotten out of an older Donnhoff. Deep-complexioned but still tactile and very complex. (2760 views) | | | Tasted by salil on 3/10/2009 & rated 96 points: Rieslings at Grand Sichuan (NYC): My favourite wine of the night. Just an amazing beguiling nose with lots of honey, white fruits and minerals over exotic spicy, smoky and floral elements. Seamless in the mouth. Almost weightless with the clarity of spring water, incredibly bright, clear flavours of apples, peaches and pears infused with stones, slate and honey and a long, creamy finish. Stunning. (2867 views) | | | Tasted by henrychinaski on 3/10/2009 & rated 96 points: Wow! Amazingly crazy nose of a variety of fruits - lemon, lime, etc. Juicy with lots of intensity and enormous weight. (2029 views) | | | Tasted by fitzi on 9/6/2008: Light straw color, faint nose of lemon custard and citrus. Texturally very pleasant, round and glycerol, with good mineral dusting and acid cut. The flavors are muted, but the sense of harmony and balance are compelling, and make this a fine wine to drink with appetizers, fish, or light meat. Purchased at the Weingut in 2001. We had a flawed bottle of this a couple of months ago and thought it might be over the hill – relieved to be proved wrong. (2243 views) | | | Tasted by Spencer on 9/6/2008 & rated 92 points: Fully mature now - I wouldn't hold onto this wine much longer. This comes across as being very well balanced, which is surprising considering how ripe and lush it is without much apparent acidity. Delicious. (1935 views) | | | Tasted by Rieslingfan on 8/16/2006 & rated 92 points: Checking in on the progress of this wine, and it's still about 2 years from maturity. The aromatics are just beginning to show secondary development, with smoky elements poking through the rich plum, peach and cherry fruit. The texture of the wine is clearly in the 1999, lower acid mold, a gentle, carressing wine rather than a bracing one. The fruit is carried very well, and the sweeetness balanced while beginning to back off somewhat as the wine approaches maturity, revealing more of the mineral base. The finish is strong and carries the wine right up to the next sip. This is not in the class of wines like the '01-'04, but is a fine Riesling with many years of positive development and drinking ahead of it. Be prepared for a more gentle style of wine though. This is not the vibrant side of Riesling. (2632 views) |
| By Chris Kissack
Winedoctor, December 2009
(Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese) Subscribe to see review text. | By John Gilman
View From the Cellar, May/Jun 2009, Issue #21, The Magic of Bottle Age : Recently Tasted Mature Wines
(Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese- Weingut Hermann Dönnhoff) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Chris Kissack
Winedoctor, August 2007
(Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöle Riesling Spätlese) Subscribe to see review text. | By John Gilman
View From the Cellar, Jul/Aug 2006, Issue #4, The Beautiful Wines of Hermann Dönnhoff
(Hermann Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Spätlese) Login and sign up and see review text. | By David Schildknecht
Vinous, January/February 2001, IWC Issue #94
(Hermann Donnhoff Niederhauser Hermannshohle Riesling Spatlese) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Winedoctor and View From the Cellar and 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. JHTRiesling Varietal character (Appellation America) | A short history of Riesling (Uncork) | Riesling (wikipedia)Spätlese Wikipedia article on Spätlese.Niederhäuser HermannshöhleDie Lage Hermannshöhle gilt heute als die höchstbewertete der ganzen Nahe und kann sich mit ihren Erzeugnissen mit allen Spitzenerzeugnissen anderer Weinbaugebiete messen. Die Lava-Basalt-Böden ergeben Weine mit viel Nachhall, die außerdem sehr haltbar sind.
In dieser Weinbergslage haben schon die Römer vor 2000 Jahren Weinbau betrieben. Sie benannten die Lage nach dem griechischen Götterboten Hermes. Man hat später geglaubt, den Namen "Hermes-Höhle" eindeutschen zu müssen und so ist der Name "Hermannshöhle" entstanden.
Geo-Data:http://www.weinlagen-info.de/?lage_id=705Germany 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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