Donnhoff Riesling Masterclass, with Cornelius Donnhoff

Handford Wines, London
Tasted Thursday, May 2, 2013 by Papies with 1,019 views

Introduction

Cornelius Donnhoff might not be the most eloquent wine producer but definitely among the most open and clear when it comes to speaking about wines. Straight shooting, no BS, no flamboyant rants. Passionate and keen to open up a discussion, he asked as many questions as we asked him. No preaching here either and the terms that epitomised the discussion was “wine is a drink and much be enjoyable” as well as “I make wines that I also like myself”

A few notes on recent vintages:
2012 – Ripe yet with good acidity and carries the sweetness very well. Good for aging. Interesting note here is that in 2012 they had NO botrytis so the Auslese+ wines were made from very ripe sun facing grapes rather than noble rot grapes. Actually the 2012 Auslese we tried below was something special and very different.
2011 – A great year, good ripeness, good balance. Not so high in acidity
2010 – A special vintage and maybe a once in a lifetime, CD believes he will never see this again, as the grapes had a lot of ripeness, high sugars yet very high acidity. Both Sugars and Acity were turned to 11!. 2010s would make for very long maturity.
2008 – A very cool year, to the point that they only made Spatleses. Spatlese wine benefited from having all the attention
2003 – The hottest vintage here too. Low acidity and the wines feel (see the 2003 below) light and with low vitality yet they have matured and held up very well.

His Philosophy on aging:
3 phases in his wines (Sweet ones).
Phase 1: ~ 1-3 years old – Fresh, primary, fruit driven
Phase 2: ~ 3-6 years old. Wines retrace and sort of close down
Phase 3: 7yr + wines re emerge with evolution and more secondary characteristics

Goldcaps/Auctions & all that Jazz. He only makes one wine every year so unlike Mosel there is no Auslese, Auslese gold cap and long caps etc. Usually the Ausleses all have gold caps. When they make small quantities of a wine they would usually send it for auctions.

Flight 1 - The Dry (2 Notes)

Flight 2 - The Sweet (9 Notes)

Flight 3 - From the Donnhoff Cellar (2 Notes)

  • 2012 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel

    Germany, Nahe

    Barrel sample provided by Cornelius Donnhoff.
    This is a very different wine from the other ausleses as in 2012 they had no botrytis. They chose to make an auslese out of darker, riper berries and the result is something very different. The wine is very floral, with exotic notes, pineapple, no petrolly feel. On the palate it has a lightness and balance that makes it delicious and would love to see how this will evolve. For sure a wine to taste for people who love their Rieslings!

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  • 2011 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Beerenauslese

    Germany, Nahe

    Honey nose. To Cornelius Donnhoff the aim in making BA wines is to extend the weight of the wine but without making it taste of botrytis. And indeed here the wine has weight but it also has a light feel (granted it is young) very lush and round with lots of depth. Concentrated and even in its youth a lovely wine . Happy aging our friend.

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Flight 4 - For Dinner (1 Note)

  • 1990 Domaine Henri Gouges Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Pruliers 89 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru

    The wine starts off with a touch of an off putting smell that blows away after a quick swirl. The nose is quick punchy and although secondary notes dominate still the ripe fruit notes are there. On the palate it is very much alive and firm. Delicate notes to start with good fruit however it also has a light bitter/green feel on the finish. A touch rough in a way and the bitterness increases with time in the glass. Good wine nonetheless and with life in it. Not sure it will improve but happy to have come across it. Pls avoid decanting.

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Closing

All in all a very interesting tasting not so much for the wines tasted but for the vintage variations. Not so much an eye opener in the different vineyard characteristics. We found it difficult to rate the wines and in most cases we did not rate them as the wines were too young and as with many sweet wine tastings palate fatigue settles in quickly . Still we liked them all!

Ironically we pretty much spent our 2012 EP budget on buying old and new German Rieslings as we found the 2012 Bordeaux EP campaign a bad and sad Joke.

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