My 1st Dellchen. Over three days. Opened due to low level. No external evidence of a leak, but with the capsule removed, it was blindingly obvious that this example had leaked a good while ago, with enough residue having been built up between the cork and the top of the capsule preventing further leakage. Level 4.1cm below the cork, which fractured into three large segments upon removal.
Intense full yellow colour. Slightly volatile nose, but the attention was quickly drawn to the very obvious late-harvest and exotic characters that were showing here. Pungent marzipan to start, then developing over two hours to reveal mango, lactic notes, distant uncleaned ashtray and honey from fragrant nectar. The pungent, yellow-golden peach flavoured mouth seemed to still be very cohesive, introducing itself in a straight-forward manner, taking a couple of hours to add a creamy quality.
On the 2nd day, from a half, the colour had not advanced, but the late-harvest nature of the nose had become subdued by white fruit, camphor and wax, while the palate - again keeping its complexities to itself - preferred to show a lovely balance and good length. On the 3rd day, with a glass-worth remaining, the accent was clearly back on the late-harvest, with apricot flavours of auslese depth dominating the palate. Closer to very good plus than very good and should hold condition for at least a couple of years.
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From 750 ml. Soft, flat, and tiring. This comes across a lot more mature than I'd expect a wine of this age to be (though this wine from magnum several months ago also appeared rather advanced). There's not a lot of freshness to the fruit, and while there's still some rich fruit tinged with smoke and honey to enjoy, this is a wine to drink up sooner rather than later.
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From magnum (thanks Ken). This is outstanding, though comes across fully mature and more advanced than what I'd expect particularly given the format. The color's surprisingly deep, and the flavour profile shows a lot of developed burnished/smoky/creamy elements around the core of rich peach and citrus fruit flavours. Good acidity gives it lift, and it has a remarkably silken, plush texture on the palate. Lovely wine, though definitely seems like one to start drinking up. I'll have to reach for my '05 Brucke soon.
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Offering deep and delicious maturing fruit flavors. It's far from the most vibrant and energetic Riesling (seems typical of the 05's) but it is interesting and very enjoyable. Paired well with some very complex dishes as well.
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Dense, sweet, still young, balanced and full with vibrant acidity and plenty of minerals. There is citrus here, but it's not so pronounced. #Familydinner#57bd
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Gave some air in the bottle in the fridge for about 6 hours. Beautifully lush, sweet and holding elegantly and smoothly together. Honey with some petrol notes emerging. Had it with a mild red curry. Not quite sure whether it matched or not but was just so delicious anyway
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Just a pup, but oh, what a pup! Just entering the tertiary phase. Fine texture and aromatics, excellent structure within. Very good now, but no rush. Drink and hold.
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Beautiful. Silky, soft with sweet honeysuckle. On the lush and sweet side of Spatlese. Just a lovely wine. Excellent. Drink now or over the next 10+ years.
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A 65th Birthday Celebration, Slightly COVID Delayed (EL Ideas - Chicago IL): Small glass from magnum, brief note. Once again, I find this a wine that doesn't quite work with savory nor with sweet. This seemed somsimilar, but slightly more savory than I recall from the magnum tasted at the last pre-COVID dinner.
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This wine had it all going on. Petrol, honey, stone fruit. Really sang with the spice in Thai papaya salad and curries. I have less experience with Dellchen than some of the other Donnhoff Spats like the Brucke, but found this Dellchen to be very elegant and refined. Not the raw power of some of the other bottlings but so well composed. An exciting wine.
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Poured two bottles for Thanksgiving dinner. Consistent notes from both. Aromatically this is very generous with petrol, burnt matches, pear, quince, and honey. Two tasters also picked up dust/old books. On the palate this has a light bodied mouthfeel with acidity that is starting to fade relative to a bottle three years ago. On the palate this starts with pear and quince, with lychee and a light lemon note with a honey conclusion. Medium finish that is a mixture of lemon and pear.
Solid overall. Our last bottles. Given the acidity this was a good time to consume.
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Amber color. Apricots, honey, white peach. Mild acidity kicks in at the finish. Just a hint of petrol. Lots of life left but I think it’s peaked. Drink em if you got em.
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The Last Supper (Before the Covid-19 Shutdown) (El Ideas): Magnum. This is showing no age whatsoever -- full nose of mineral, slate and sweet white fruit. The palate is round with a core of sweet white fruit that is at once plush and juicy. Well balanced. Should age for a couple of decades in this format.
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Fairly dark in color and surprisingly mature...doesn't seem to have much acidity and is lacking that Donnhoff vibrancy but still very tasty with some honeyed saffron notes. A nice wine if not quite reaching the heights this is capable of.
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Rich golden color. Nose botrytis, dense floral, honey, wax. Palate layered, peach, off dry yet vibrant acidity. Rich and a bit heavy, not sure if this needs more time or just shows the vintage's ripeness, but not a delicate riesling, more of a bruiser. 89 pts
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At the heavier end of the spectrum as one might expect from the vintage - creamy yellow fruit, exotic notes, ginger - good stone cut through it though. Maybe better after a few more years? ***1/2
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Last of my bottles. In a great place right now - it's still very rich with lots of ripe orchard fruit and florality, but also showing a lovely maturing smokiness on the nose. There's still plenty of youthful sweetness here and it feels more like an Auslese, but this is a lot of fun to drink now. Shame there's no more regular (non-auction) Spätlese being made from this site.
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Even though this bottle had oozed a bit the wine was still stunning. Just a bit more acidity than the 2002 Dönnhoff Schloßböckelheimer Kupfergrube Riesling Spätlese we had yesterday makes it a nearly perfect Spätlese.
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This was a lovely Spatlese. There is candied lemon, ginger and tart red cherry fruit profile, with loads of sweetness evident on the palate. However, the sweetness is kept in check by strong acidity that keeps the wine from being cloying or heavy. Finishes quite long and minerally, with a tactile sensation of powdered stone taking over the gums. No doubt that this will last for a long time, but delicious now. 92.
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Served with a Christmas turkey dinner. Very light straw color. Aromatically gives off pear, quince, persimmon, and burnt match sulfur. Medium body with medium viscosity. On the palate this is heavily weighted toward the pear and quince with good overall ripenes. This has light overall acidity on the entry and a light lingering finish of orchard fruits.
An excellent pairing with the meal. Six drinkers offered very consistent feedback.
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Lovely! Light yet with great persistence. Peaches and hibiscus flowers with just a touch of slate/petrol. Kept improving over the whole evening. I love this style because they can complement a light savory main course AND hold it for an hour or so then pair it with fruit like peaches or pears with cream as a dessert as seems not to heavy for an over hot Labor Day evening.
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Outstanding. Exotic fruit aromatics. Good balance of sweetness and acidity. Mouthwatering and great with food. There is real complexity here but you want to guzzle this.
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Magnum brought to BerserkerFest at Jay Hack's. Just wonderful. Full, crisp with a nice balanced sweetness. Enormously complex with a very long finish. Stunning stuff. Goes perfectly with smoked pork butt.
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This is in a great place right now, still holding onto a full range of fruit favors, while also showing more underlying minerals, and just a touch of a more evolved, smoky element. It's still quite rich, so there' plenty of room for further development. That said I may blow through these pretty quickly, as my wife really likes it!
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This is drinking superbly. Packed with bright fruit - an array of ripe apples, peaches, and white cherry flavours, with more savoury smoky and mineral accents augmenting the fruit. Incredibly polished and silky in the mouth with a faintly creamy texture, remarkably light on its feet, and finishing very long.
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2014 Wine Dinner at Kingston (Fairfield, CT): Drank blind and most picked it as a German riesling. However, most people thought it was a younger wine. This has a lot of life left in it. It is a very delicate and enjoyable wine with hints of pineapple and tropical fruit on the nose. The finish was non-confrontational and left me wanting for more.
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Four years since the last bottle and very little has changed. Bright apple, pear and citrus are still shining through. Spritz is gone and acidity seems to have tamed, but that's about it. To be expected after this much time. But allows all of the other flavors and fruit to take center stage. Long, delicious finish with butterscotch and key lime notes. Truly excellent.
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From Arthur's vintage and well, isn't it just amazing. And too darn easy to drink. I'm sure I could suck down a jerry of this without even thinking about it. Delicious, extraordinary wine.
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Dönnhoff tasting (AuZone, Stockholm): Appearance: light yellow Nose: citrus and zest, other yellow fruit, honey, hints of elderflower, emerging development with some hints of petrol. Palate: off-dry, citrus, elderflower, quite good concentration of fruit, high acidity, mineral, a hint of grapefruit bitterness, very balanced finish. Summary: 89 p
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Bearserkerfest Night 2-Chave Table (Sun Wah BBQ, Chicago IL): Nose: Well balanced with rounded tones of quince, green apples, white fruits, peaches, and white florals. There is nice depth to this with it being fairly open right from the outset and gaining more with air.
Taste: Light bodied with refreshing medium+ acidity. The feel is very smooth and polished with lovely tones of green apples, quince, white florals and peach tones.
Overall: This was a real lovely donnhoff. There was still a freshness to the tones while it seems like it's working towards maturity.
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From magnum, at Thanksgiving. Beautiful straw gold color, great nose of apple, pear, and a hint of citrus. Surprising to see such a vivid bouquet coaxed out of such a lightly colored wine. Light body, faintly oily mouthfeel with more than enough acidity to balance the sweetness. I think this is drinking very well right now, but can last another 10 years.
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One for / from the Arthur file. Started second grade yesterday -- a big boy now. I am proud of him. I believe I have 15 or so more Donnhoff from his year and at my current rate of one every three years I should be able to see him through. But to the wine:
Easily out did every other Riesling on the table with its elegance, purity, and drive. Didn't "overpower" them, just quite frankly tasted better. Decanted for one hour before drinking, tasted best three hours in the decanter. So much, much life ahead. Pure and delicious.
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Popped and poured. Definitely a sweetie, with not quite enough balancing acidity. A little simple, but definitely tasty. Peaches and honey. Still quite young, this could sail on. $29
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Lots of firn and honey on the aromas, brown spice and cherry to support. Mouth is very lively with a bouncy acid core, very tactile beeswax texture. My friend's bottle, I just had a glass sooo... no AP number sorry, kids
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TN: Eric Levine comes to NYC. (Beacon Restaurant): Decanted two hours ahead of time, I would've expected the wine to have fleshed out some more. It was tight aromatically and a bit disjointed on the palate. Plenty of ripe guava and tropical fruit with a nice acidic finish, but the acidity seems a bit lacking through the mid-palate, amplifying the sweetness and making the wine flat. Pleasant, but it really doesn't hold your attention. B+/A-.
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Blind White Throwdown (Our House (2033 Brandywine St., Philadelphia)): Fantastic! Mineral fresh and floral nose. You can sniff the juiciness. Intense. Bit of spritz on the initial attack. Tropical fruit, lemon. Fresh, intense and nice concentration. Touch of sweetness, but nothing overwhelming. Amazed by the freshness of this, but the acidity is there. Nice finish.
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this wine is fantastic. the color is a nice pale yellow. the nose has apricot and a hint of pineapple. the finish is not too sweet. drinking really well at this stage of its life.
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AP No. 08. This was incredibly delicious. It was one of those wines that continued to change over the course of an evening. At one point you would smell it and get this intense rush of ripe sweet fuji apple, and another time nectarines, and yet at another of ripe green melon. Always maintained a complex mineral background. Wonderfully balanced acid and amazing texture made this very enjoyable and easy to drink. Very complex with fruit, floral and mineral components dancing around in the palate, but in a very calm manner. It was like a wave of serenity washing over your body. Kind of like relaxing to some Miles Davis after a hard day. Wanted to save some of this for the next day, but it was much too enjoyable to not finish. Glad I have more bottles.
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I feel uneasy, but I have to take exception with all the ringing endorsements of this wine. I just don't see it. The main scent strikes me as a less pungent version of Sauternes-like apricots. Because of this softness, I was looking forward to the bubbling up of additional nuances. Unfortunately, I can't confidently say that anything more distinct than a faint citrusy freshness was present. This wine does indeed have a great glistening, diaphanous sort of appearance and the mouthfeel is similarly ethereal, but I also find it somewhat flabby and unfocused. The palate shows more apricots and a faint sharpness, maybe sour tangerines or limes. Some wisps of pear and lychee juice might have floated by at some point. I guess I need more intensity, focus, and structure. I dislike monolithic wines as much as the next guy, but this is too far in the other direction and ends up as a sort of diffuse faded mushiness. I have another bottle and I'll gladly to give ole Donnhoff another go.
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Stunning bottle. I initially served it too cold but as it warmed up the orange rind, apricot and some jasmine aromas started to fill the glass. I could not help sticking my nose in for a second, third whiff. Wonderful mouthfeel that evoked softness with pineapple, apricot and maybe a hint of lemon with stony minerality and a long long finish. A+
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It is hard to think if I ever had a more delicate, elgant and expressive wine than this in my life. Since the wine is so elegant I hate to force my metaphors into brute language after drinking this. I had it with French onion soup this Sunday while having a hard time with Arthur, my son born in 2005 whom I bought it for.
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I'm stunned at how well this is drinking right now (although from a very cold cellar) - lots of bright fruit ranging from citrus and apples to mandarin orange and yellow plums and a bed of rocks underneath. There's an incredible precision and lightness to the flavours and a finish that just keeps expanding and seems to keep going on and on. Wow.
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Pale color, almost watery. Pears, honeydew, peaches, green apple, oranges, and a hint of ginger on the palate. A good effort. Served with smoked salmon, crackers, and Monte Enebro cheese.
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Wow. This almost gives itself away in its color: ever so light yet shimmery and glistening. Graceful in the mouth, just lithe and soft, yet absolutely full of intensity. It sneaks into every corner of the palate without warning until suddenly all of the pleasure sensors are lighting up like a slot machine hitting the jackpot. And that is exactly what I've hit today with this wine. Tasted over the course of six hours and showed nectarine, white peach, honeysuckle, white cherries, pears, mineral water, stones, flowers. Overall this offers incredible intensity of fruit yet an absolute purity and lightness that together show as nothing short of stunning. 95+.
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Showed a lot of intense youthful white fruits, pineapple and peach flavours upon opening. With time the fruit became a little more restrained as stony minerals and spicy notes emerged underneath. Silky smooth mouthfeel with good acidity and a long finish. Very enjoyable, and I'm sure this will only get better.
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Wonderful scents of fruit on the nose... makes you want to dive in. Lots of raspy acidity on the palate, along with peaches, lime and citrus fruit. Nice long finish. Leaves you wanting more.
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Oh my God...What a wine!! This one was simply unbelievable. Hugely complex, expressive nose nose offering all kinds of nuances. PApple, nectarines, smoke, roasted nuts, pears, lots of wet stone, you name it. From your first sniff of the wine, you know this is a great wine. My wife "complained" that this demands all your attention - not a simple Riesling to sip before dinner... Same on the palate, wave after wave of the most noble and complex riesling fruit with minerality to burn. Perfectly integrated sweetness and acidity - just pure harmony but with incredible intensity. Certainly the best white I had this year - but I haven't tasted the Hermannshöhle yet... My rating is probably a bit stingy because on that night it was simply the perfect Riesling for me.
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3/17/2024 - Ingmars wrote:
My 1st Dellchen. Over three days. Opened due to low level. No external evidence of a leak, but with the capsule removed, it was blindingly obvious that this example had leaked a good while ago, with enough residue having been built up between the cork and the top of the capsule preventing further leakage. Level 4.1cm below the cork, which fractured into three large segments upon removal.
Intense full yellow colour. Slightly volatile nose, but the attention was quickly drawn to the very obvious late-harvest and exotic characters that were showing here. Pungent marzipan to start, then developing over two hours to reveal mango, lactic notes, distant uncleaned ashtray and honey from fragrant nectar. The pungent, yellow-golden peach flavoured mouth seemed to still be very cohesive, introducing itself in a straight-forward manner, taking a couple of hours to add a creamy quality.
On the 2nd day, from a half, the colour had not advanced, but the late-harvest nature of the nose had become subdued by white fruit, camphor and wax, while the palate - again keeping its complexities to itself - preferred to show a lovely balance and good length. On the 3rd day, with a glass-worth remaining, the accent was clearly back on the late-harvest, with apricot flavours of auslese depth dominating the palate. Closer to very good plus than very good and should hold condition for at least a couple of years.
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3/13/2024 - salil wrote: 80 Points
From 750 ml. Soft, flat, and tiring. This comes across a lot more mature than I'd expect a wine of this age to be (though this wine from magnum several months ago also appeared rather advanced). There's not a lot of freshness to the fruit, and while there's still some rich fruit tinged with smoke and honey to enjoy, this is a wine to drink up sooner rather than later.
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7/4/2023 - salil wrote: 93 Points
From magnum (thanks Ken). This is outstanding, though comes across fully mature and more advanced than what I'd expect particularly given the format. The color's surprisingly deep, and the flavour profile shows a lot of developed burnished/smoky/creamy elements around the core of rich peach and citrus fruit flavours. Good acidity gives it lift, and it has a remarkably silken, plush texture on the palate. Lovely wine, though definitely seems like one to start drinking up. I'll have to reach for my '05 Brucke soon.
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11/12/2022 - Rieslingfan wrote:
Cork came out much too easily, and the wine is not oxidized, but clearly advanced. Not representative.
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11/10/2022 - VDLT Wine Likes this wine:
Offering deep and delicious maturing fruit flavors. It's far from the most vibrant and energetic Riesling (seems typical of the 05's) but it is interesting and very enjoyable. Paired well with some very complex dishes as well.
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10/8/2022 - beatles wrote: 94 Points
Dense, sweet, still young, balanced and full with vibrant acidity and plenty of minerals. There is citrus here, but it's not so pronounced.
#Familydinner#57bd
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8/1/2022 - cvst Likes this wine: 93 Points
Gave some air in the bottle in the fridge for about 6 hours. Beautifully lush, sweet and holding elegantly and smoothly together. Honey with some petrol notes emerging. Had it with a mild red curry. Not quite sure whether it matched or not but was just so delicious anyway
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3/13/2022 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:
Just a pup, but oh, what a pup! Just entering the tertiary phase. Fine texture and aromatics, excellent structure within. Very good now, but no rush. Drink and hold.
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2/20/2022 - MRichman wrote:
Beautiful. Silky, soft with sweet honeysuckle. On the lush and sweet side of Spatlese. Just a lovely wine. Excellent. Drink now or over the next 10+ years.
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5/30/2021 - Burgundy Al wrote: 90 Points
A 65th Birthday Celebration, Slightly COVID Delayed (EL Ideas - Chicago IL): Small glass from magnum, brief note. Once again, I find this a wine that doesn't quite work with savory nor with sweet. This seemed somsimilar, but slightly more savory than I recall from the magnum tasted at the last pre-COVID dinner.
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3/13/2021 - btock Likes this wine: 95 Points
This wine had it all going on. Petrol, honey, stone fruit. Really sang with the spice in Thai papaya salad and curries. I have less experience with Dellchen than some of the other Donnhoff Spats like the Brucke, but found this Dellchen to be very elegant and refined. Not the raw power of some of the other bottlings but so well composed. An exciting wine.
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2/23/2021 - Vas19 wrote: 90 Points
Starting to show those aged notes, if that's your thing hold if not drink up
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12/21/2020 - JJKinch wrote: 93 Points
Peach, pronounced apricot, pear, tropical fruit, floral, good acidity. Nice sweetness- honey. Bright, strong fruit. Lingering finish. Really enjoyable.
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11/26/2020 - COWineLover wrote: 91 Points
Poured two bottles for Thanksgiving dinner. Consistent notes from both. Aromatically this is very generous with petrol, burnt matches, pear, quince, and honey. Two tasters also picked up dust/old books. On the palate this has a light bodied mouthfeel with acidity that is starting to fade relative to a bottle three years ago. On the palate this starts with pear and quince, with lychee and a light lemon note with a honey conclusion. Medium finish that is a mixture of lemon and pear.
Solid overall. Our last bottles. Given the acidity this was a good time to consume.
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7/29/2020 - BillyRayValentine wrote: 93 Points
Amber color. Apricots, honey, white peach. Mild acidity kicks in at the finish. Just a hint of petrol. Lots of life left but I think it’s peaked. Drink em if you got em.
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4/24/2020 - kenv Likes this wine: 93 Points
Lovely nose of honeysuckle. On the sweet side of Spätlese, but not cloying. Complex and delicious. Time to get serious about drinking these up.
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3/15/2020 - Nanda wrote: 92 Points
The Last Supper (Before the Covid-19 Shutdown) (El Ideas): Magnum. This is showing no age whatsoever -- full nose of mineral, slate and sweet white fruit. The palate is round with a core of sweet white fruit that is at once plush and juicy. Well balanced. Should age for a couple of decades in this format.
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3/15/2020 - Burgundy Al wrote: 91 Points
Last Wine Dinner Before the Coronavirus Shutdown (EL Ideas - Chicago IL): From magnum. Still very bright an d fresh for its age, so correspondingly too sweet to work with savory food. Lots of rich baked apple with that classic Riesling diesel note and very good depth.
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3/1/2020 - BillBell73 Likes this wine:
Fairly dark in color and surprisingly mature...doesn't seem to have much acidity and is lacking that Donnhoff vibrancy but still very tasty with some honeyed saffron notes. A nice wine if not quite reaching the heights this is capable of.
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2/23/2020 - peternelson wrote: 91 Points
Good classic wine, don't have notes, think this was quite rich, good age, relatively moderate acidity though. EWG at Kapoor's Akbar
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11/16/2019 - fred o. Likes this wine:
Rich golden color. Nose botrytis, dense floral, honey, wax. Palate layered, peach, off dry yet vibrant acidity. Rich and a bit heavy, not sure if this needs more time or just shows the vintage's ripeness, but not a delicate riesling, more of a bruiser. 89 pts
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6/4/2019 - beatles wrote: 94 Points
Extraordinary. Clean, bright refreshing, light, yet with a core of fruit, citrus, minerals and an exotic touch. Approaching maturity, but still young.
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3/24/2019 - BillyRayValentine wrote: 93 Points
Agree with recent notes. In a great place and seems like it can go for many more years.
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2/25/2019 - MAOC wrote:
At the heavier end of the spectrum as one might expect from the vintage - creamy yellow fruit, exotic notes, ginger - good stone cut through it though. Maybe better after a few more years? ***1/2
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1/11/2019 - salil wrote: 93 Points
Last of my bottles. In a great place right now - it's still very rich with lots of ripe orchard fruit and florality, but also showing a lovely maturing smokiness on the nose. There's still plenty of youthful sweetness here and it feels more like an Auslese, but this is a lot of fun to drink now. Shame there's no more regular (non-auction) Spätlese being made from this site.
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11/23/2018 - kenv Likes this wine: 96 Points
Even though this bottle had oozed a bit the wine was still stunning. Just a bit more acidity than the 2002 Dönnhoff Schloßböckelheimer Kupfergrube Riesling Spätlese we had yesterday makes it a nearly perfect Spätlese.
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10/17/2018 - J o e wrote: 92 Points
This was a lovely Spatlese. There is candied lemon, ginger and tart red cherry fruit profile, with loads of sweetness evident on the palate. However, the sweetness is kept in check by strong acidity that keeps the wine from being cloying or heavy. Finishes quite long and minerally, with a tactile sensation of powdered stone taking over the gums. No doubt that this will last for a long time, but delicious now. 92.
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12/25/2017 - COWineLover wrote: 92 Points
Served with a Christmas turkey dinner. Very light straw color. Aromatically gives off pear, quince, persimmon, and burnt match sulfur. Medium body with medium viscosity. On the palate this is heavily weighted toward the pear and quince with good overall ripenes. This has light overall acidity on the entry and a light lingering finish of orchard fruits.
An excellent pairing with the meal. Six drinkers offered very consistent feedback.
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9/4/2017 - portman63 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Lovely! Light yet with great persistence. Peaches and hibiscus flowers with just a touch of slate/petrol. Kept improving over the whole evening. I love this style because they can complement a light savory main course AND hold it for an hour or so then pair it with fruit like peaches or pears with cream as a dessert as seems not to heavy for an over hot Labor Day evening.
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8/1/2017 - pren wrote: 87 Points
OK flat
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6/25/2016 - MartyL wrote: 93 Points
Outstanding. Exotic fruit aromatics. Good balance of sweetness and acidity. Mouthwatering and great with food. There is real complexity here but you want to guzzle this.
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5/29/2016 - kenv Likes this wine: 96 Points
Magnum brought to BerserkerFest at Jay Hack's. Just wonderful. Full, crisp with a nice balanced sweetness. Enormously complex with a very long finish. Stunning stuff. Goes perfectly with smoked pork butt.
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10/11/2015 - Rieslingfan wrote:
This is in a great place right now, still holding onto a full range of fruit favors, while also showing more underlying minerals, and just a touch of a more evolved, smoky element. It's still quite rich, so there' plenty of room for further development. That said I may blow through these pretty quickly, as my wife really likes it!
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9/30/2015 - salil wrote: 93 Points
This is drinking superbly. Packed with bright fruit - an array of ripe apples, peaches, and white cherry flavours, with more savoury smoky and mineral accents augmenting the fruit. Incredibly polished and silky in the mouth with a faintly creamy texture, remarkably light on its feet, and finishing very long.
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3/21/2015 - LikeABC Likes this wine:
starting to shed some baby fat. Good enough acid to make interesting now, but can't wait to try in 3-5 years
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3/9/2015 - MRichman wrote:
Nice. Drinking fine.
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11/30/2014 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
Maybe not as open as it good be but still rather amazing.
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11/14/2014 - pjhr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Delicious white peach, grapefruit, and petrol on the nose and palate with elegant acidity and minerality on the finish.
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11/9/2014 - Weston3220 Likes this wine: 90 Points
From a magnum, cork was just starting to leak, but wine is delicious, perfectly balanced, thumb s up here
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5/19/2014 - achim_m wrote: 90 Points
Aged nicely. Still fruit there. IMHO this could be kept for another 5+ years.
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4/28/2014 - sayward Likes this wine: 93 Points
2014 Wine Dinner at Kingston (Fairfield, CT): Drank blind and most picked it as a German riesling. However, most people thought it was a younger wine. This has a lot of life left in it. It is a very delicate and enjoyable wine with hints of pineapple and tropical fruit on the nose. The finish was non-confrontational and left me wanting for more.
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12/15/2013 - jwolf99 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Four years since the last bottle and very little has changed. Bright apple, pear and citrus are still shining through. Spritz is gone and acidity seems to have tamed, but that's about it. To be expected after this much time. But allows all of the other flavors and fruit to take center stage. Long, delicious finish with butterscotch and key lime notes. Truly excellent.
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8/9/2013 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
From Arthur's vintage and well, isn't it just amazing. And too darn easy to drink. I'm sure I could suck down a jerry of this without even thinking about it. Delicious, extraordinary wine.
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8/8/2013 - Vintomas wrote: 89 Points
Dönnhoff tasting (AuZone, Stockholm): Appearance: light yellow
Nose: citrus and zest, other yellow fruit, honey, hints of elderflower, emerging development with some hints of petrol.
Palate: off-dry, citrus, elderflower, quite good concentration of fruit, high acidity, mineral, a hint of grapefruit bitterness, very balanced finish.
Summary: 89 p
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6/6/2013 - sooper65 wrote: 91 Points
Splendid, vibrant, pure, racy, effortless, excellent!!
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5/18/2013 - KeithAkers wrote: 92 Points
Bearserkerfest Night 2-Chave Table (Sun Wah BBQ, Chicago IL): Nose: Well balanced with rounded tones of quince, green apples, white fruits, peaches, and white florals. There is nice depth to this with it being fairly open right from the outset and gaining more with air.
Taste: Light bodied with refreshing medium+ acidity. The feel is very smooth and polished with lovely tones of green apples, quince, white florals and peach tones.
Overall: This was a real lovely donnhoff. There was still a freshness to the tones while it seems like it's working towards maturity.
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1/1/2013 - Harry Cantrell Likes this wine: 95 Points
Pale yellow. Nose was minerally, citrus and comely. Taste was smooth, rich, sweeter side of Spatlese. Great.
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11/23/2012 - subir wrote: 93 Points
From magnum, at Thanksgiving. Beautiful straw gold color, great nose of apple, pear, and a hint of citrus. Surprising to see such a vivid bouquet coaxed out of such a lightly colored wine. Light body, faintly oily mouthfeel with more than enough acidity to balance the sweetness. I think this is drinking very well right now, but can last another 10 years.
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8/28/2012 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
One for / from the Arthur file. Started second grade yesterday -- a big boy now. I am proud of him. I believe I have 15 or so more Donnhoff from his year and at my current rate of one every three years I should be able to see him through. But to the wine:
Easily out did every other Riesling on the table with its elegance, purity, and drive. Didn't "overpower" them, just quite frankly tasted better. Decanted for one hour before drinking, tasted best three hours in the decanter. So much, much life ahead. Pure and delicious.
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2/10/2012 - joshwoodward wrote:
Popped and poured. Definitely a sweetie, with not quite enough balancing acidity. A little simple, but definitely tasty. Peaches and honey. Still quite young, this could sail on. $29
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1/31/2012 - Vino_Divine wrote: 92 Points
Lots of firn and honey on the aromas, brown spice and cherry to support. Mouth is very lively with a bouncy acid core, very tactile beeswax texture.
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1/21/2012 - Vino_Divine wrote: 91 Points
Lots of firn and honey on the aromas, brown spice and cherry to support. Mouth is very lively with a bouncy acid core, very tactile beeswax texture. My friend's bottle, I just had a glass sooo... no AP number sorry, kids
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12/28/2011 - BradKNYC wrote:
TN: Eric Levine comes to NYC. (Beacon Restaurant): Decanted two hours ahead of time, I would've expected the wine to have fleshed out some more. It was tight aromatically and a bit disjointed on the palate. Plenty of ripe guava and tropical fruit with a nice acidic finish, but the acidity seems a bit lacking through the mid-palate, amplifying the sweetness and making the wine flat. Pleasant, but it really doesn't hold your attention. B+/A-.
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10/14/2011 - Brnshj22 wrote:
Popped and poured this wine even though I knew it needed air. Hands off these 05s at the moment, I guess.
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7/22/2011 - ews3 wrote: 93 Points
Blind White Throwdown (Roberts House, Philadelphia PA): juicy. apple juice, some cherry. nose shows floral character. med finish, but tough to not just down more of this -- so easy to drink.
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7/22/2011 - jrobs7777 wrote: 94 Points
Blind White Throwdown (Our House (2033 Brandywine St., Philadelphia)): Fantastic! Mineral fresh and floral nose. You can sniff the juiciness. Intense. Bit of spritz on the initial attack. Tropical fruit, lemon. Fresh, intense and nice concentration. Touch of sweetness, but nothing overwhelming. Amazed by the freshness of this, but the acidity is there. Nice finish.
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11/28/2010 - sayward wrote: 93 Points
this wine is fantastic. the color is a nice pale yellow. the nose has apricot and a hint of pineapple. the finish is not too sweet. drinking really well at this stage of its life.
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6/1/2010 - wickedwax wrote:
AP No. 08. This was incredibly delicious. It was one of those wines that continued to change over the course of an evening. At one point you would smell it and get this intense rush of ripe sweet fuji apple, and another time nectarines, and yet at another of ripe green melon. Always maintained a complex mineral background. Wonderfully balanced acid and amazing texture made this very enjoyable and easy to drink. Very complex with fruit, floral and mineral components dancing around in the palate, but in a very calm manner. It was like a wave of serenity washing over your body. Kind of like relaxing to some Miles Davis after a hard day. Wanted to save some of this for the next day, but it was much too enjoyable to not finish. Glad I have more bottles.
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5/12/2010 - Spruce Goose wrote: 88 Points
I feel uneasy, but I have to take exception with all the ringing endorsements of this wine. I just don't see it. The main scent strikes me as a less pungent version of Sauternes-like apricots. Because of this softness, I was looking forward to the bubbling up of additional nuances. Unfortunately, I can't confidently say that anything more distinct than a faint citrusy freshness was present. This wine does indeed have a great glistening, diaphanous sort of appearance and the mouthfeel is similarly ethereal, but I also find it somewhat flabby and unfocused. The palate shows more apricots and a faint sharpness, maybe sour tangerines or limes. Some wisps of pear and lychee juice might have floated by at some point. I guess I need more intensity, focus, and structure. I dislike monolithic wines as much as the next guy, but this is too far in the other direction and ends up as a sort of diffuse faded mushiness. I have another bottle and I'll gladly to give ole Donnhoff another go.
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4/29/2010 - Love4Vino wrote:
Stunning bottle. I initially served it too cold but as it warmed up the orange rind, apricot and some jasmine aromas started to fill the glass. I could not help sticking my nose in for a second, third whiff. Wonderful mouthfeel that evoked softness with pineapple, apricot and maybe a hint of lemon with stony minerality and a long long finish. A+
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2/15/2010 - Jack wrote: 90 Points
Wide range of fruit and a little spice thrown in.
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11/1/2009 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
It is hard to think if I ever had a more delicate, elgant and expressive wine than this in my life. Since the wine is so elegant I hate to force my metaphors into brute language after drinking this. I had it with French onion soup this Sunday while having a hard time with Arthur, my son born in 2005 whom I bought it for.
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9/13/2009 - jwolf99 wrote: 93 Points
Plenty of cirtus and apple, very bright and focused, not overly sweet; had with grilled swordfish and scallops
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8/16/2009 - salil wrote: 95 Points
I'm stunned at how well this is drinking right now (although from a very cold cellar) - lots of bright fruit ranging from citrus and apples to mandarin orange and yellow plums and a bed of rocks underneath. There's an incredible precision and lightness to the flavours and a finish that just keeps expanding and seems to keep going on and on. Wow.
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7/1/2009 - ews3 wrote: 94 Points
delicious. pear juice, honeysuckle, juicy apple, nutmeg, tropical fruit. perfectly in balance. long finish carries the sweet fruit.
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4/21/2009 - cookie7 wrote: 94 Points
Pear, melon and honey on the palate. This wine is fulll and round with amazing balance. Just a complete wine that is a pleasure to drink.
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4/7/2009 - suttonri wrote: 92 Points
Pale color, almost watery. Pears, honeydew, peaches, green apple, oranges, and a hint of ginger on the palate. A good effort. Served with smoked salmon, crackers, and Monte Enebro cheese.
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1/1/2009 - jivey wrote: 93 Points
Ney Years 09
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12/27/2008 - ClassicWater wrote: 95 Points
Wow. This almost gives itself away in its color: ever so light yet shimmery and glistening. Graceful in the mouth, just lithe and soft, yet absolutely full of intensity. It sneaks into every corner of the palate without warning until suddenly all of the pleasure sensors are lighting up like a slot machine hitting the jackpot. And that is exactly what I've hit today with this wine. Tasted over the course of six hours and showed nectarine, white peach, honeysuckle, white cherries, pears, mineral water, stones, flowers. Overall this offers incredible intensity of fruit yet an absolute purity and lightness that together show as nothing short of stunning. 95+.
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11/15/2008 - salil wrote: 92 Points
Showed a lot of intense youthful white fruits, pineapple and peach flavours upon opening. With time the fruit became a little more restrained as stony minerals and spicy notes emerged underneath. Silky smooth mouthfeel with good acidity and a long finish. Very enjoyable, and I'm sure this will only get better.
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5/9/2008 - davergny wrote: 92 Points
Very nice, well balanced and tasty wine.
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6/9/2007 - Old_Winyards wrote: 92 Points
Wonderful scents of fruit on the nose... makes you want to dive in. Lots of raspy acidity on the palate, along with peaches, lime and citrus fruit. Nice long finish. Leaves you wanting more.
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6/1/2007 - peternelson wrote: 92 Points
Red Carpet: Minerals & apples, thick, viscous, (more bal. than Kunstler) tone of frt & a’s balanced(lemon drop& min. mth)grt longgg fin. Nicely done!
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4/19/2007 - kstoddard wrote: 93 Points
Pears and apples with a nice minerality. Good concentration and depth with perfect acidity. Rich, oily mouth feel with a finish that lasts a minute.
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8/14/2006 - gorm wrote: 92 Points
Very elegant and a bit shy. Roseleafs, grapefruit. Very tight and precise. Some minerals. Rating: 92
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8/2/2006 - WC-ME wrote: 98 Points
Oh my God...What a wine!! This one was simply unbelievable. Hugely complex, expressive nose nose offering all kinds of nuances. PApple, nectarines, smoke, roasted nuts, pears, lots of wet stone, you name it. From your first sniff of the wine, you know this is a great wine. My wife "complained" that this demands all your attention - not a simple Riesling to sip before dinner... Same on the palate, wave after wave of the most noble and complex riesling fruit with minerality to burn. Perfectly integrated sweetness and acidity - just pure harmony but with incredible intensity. Certainly the best white I had this year - but I haven't tasted the Hermannshöhle yet... My rating is probably a bit stingy because on that night it was simply the perfect Riesling for me.
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