1994 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Spätlese

Community Tasting Notes (8) Median Score: 93 points

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  10/22/2021 - acyso wrote: 95 Points

  #07-95, 10% abv. There is an aroma on the nose here that distinctly reminds me of aged examples of Prüm's Wehlener Sonnenuhr (it's that creamy/blue cheese thing). Clearly mature, with more notes of dried fruit rather than fresh, as well as elements that definitely speak of rocks and minerals and that sort of thing. The palate is firmly structural, with generous acids and plenty of minerality; the sweetness is but an accent at this point; I'd be hard-pressed to call this a sweet wine at all, but nevertheless this has the requisite balance of a top-notch German riesling. Outstanding. I've heard rumours before that Dönnhoff doesn't age. Utter hogwash.

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  9/22/2019 - acyso wrote: 93 Points

  Lunch at Sun Wah (Chicago, IL): #07-95, 10% abv. I love the old label. Anyway, this is a fully mature edition, showing a slight hint of petrol but also a really intense minerality. The acidity is spot-on for 1994 and is clean, crisp, and very, very precise. The fruit on the palate is obviously secondary now, but it has aged really nicely, keeping so much of the freshness and purity, without getting muddled. Just another bottle of 1994 that cements in my mind the absolute greatness of the vintage. (Honestly, what other region did well in 1994?)

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  2/1/2017 - forceberry wrote: 93 Points

  Rather deep golden yellow color with a subtle lime-green hue. Relatively restrained and somewhat dry yet very nuanced nose with layered aromas of stone dust, earthy petrichor, dried apple, some lemony citrus fruits, a hint of ripe peach and a developed, creamy touch of vanilla custard. The wine is broad, full-bodied and quite concentrated on the palate with very high, bracing acidity and intense, medium-sweet flavors of lemony citrus fruits, some honey, developed notes of cooked cream, a hint of steely minerality and a touch of apple peel bitterness. The ridiculously high acidity offsets the sugary sweetness beautifully. The lively finish is medium-sweet but also quite crisp, tangy and rather bitter with long flavors of lemon juice, steely minerality, tart green apples, some developed honeyed richness, a hint of creaminess and a touch of apple peel bitterness.
  
  An incredibly crisp, brisk and focused Spätlese that was surprisingly youthful - but also relatively straightforward - for one well over 20 years of age. There's wonderful focus and tension here with beautifully precise and incisive acid structure here. For a Riesling almost a quarter of century old, this wine feels a bit lacking in complexity, but it might just be that it is aging at a glacial pace - perhaps the wine will continue its slow journey upwards over the following decades. Impressive stuff with some room for further development. Highly recommended.

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  2/21/2014 - salil wrote: 93 Points

  Rieslingfeier 2014 - BYOB Main event (Rouge Tomate, NYC): Delicious, and coming across fully mature. A scent of vanilla cream and savoury earthy and smoky earthy notes leading into a palate of fresh peach and pear fruit and stony minerality with very little perceptible sweetness. Powerful yet very elegant, finishing long and smoky.

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  1/18/2012 - Dbrane wrote: 84 Points

  Dönnhoff Tasting with Helmut Dönnhoff (Taberna Wine Bar, Singapore): Almost totally dry. Copperish color. Completely secondary now. Exotic taste of citrus peel and dried apricots. Not really to my taste but definitely an experience to taste it.

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