Day 4 in the Nahe - Donnhoff/Schafer-Frohlich/Emrich-Schoenleber

Nahe - Germany
Tasted Wednesday, January 14, 2015 by tooch with 1,131 views

Introduction

Our final day in Germany had us visiting 3 more producers. I was feeling terrible in the morning...I think jet lag caught up to me...I was a mess in the car ride to Donnhoff, but luckily recovered across the course of the day.

Flight 1 - Dönnhoff (10 Notes)

We had an amazing visit at Dönnhoff with Cornelius and Ann. I drink more Dönnhoff than any other German producer, so this was an absolute thrill. Paula, their dog, stopped in from time-to-time to say hello too, so that was always fun.

They have a great portfolio of wines, and we were lucky enough to try some stuff that either never makes it to the states or rarely does. Their sweet wines are off-the-charts good. This tasting reinforced that fact.

After the tasting we visited their Oberhäuser Brücke vineyard and got to check out the grapes still hanging in hopes of making some Eiswein. This was a visit I'll never forget!

  • 2013 Dönnhoff Roxheimer Höllenpfad Riesling trocken 86 Points

    Germany, Nahe

    I'd never heard of this cuvee before, and it's one of the vineyards that the Donnhoff's hope to revitalize after many years of neglect. The nose reminded me of a Gruner. Lots of pepper, melons, and citrus tones. The palate was incredibly sharp and focused. More melon tones, some lemon/lime parts, and pear. Thought the finish was a bit harsh...a hair too much acid. Overall a nice wine, though.

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  • 2013 Dönnhoff Felsenberg Riesling Großes Gewächs 90 Points

    Germany, Nahe

    From 60 degree slopes. The soils are volcanic, and the roots are quite shallow. The nose was spicy and floral. Its palate was tense and raw with stony citrus tones. My notes read, "rugged, rigid, and tense". I've always thought Donnhoff excels with their sweet wines, but this is one of the dry ones that's really quite nice. Young...but quite nice.

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  • 2013 Dönnhoff Hermannshöhle Riesling Großes Gewächs 92 Points

    Germany, Nahe

    This vineyard dates back to Roman times, and the current average vine age is 46 years. Compared to the Felsenberg GG, this has more of an exotic nose. More apple/peach/nectarine compared to the Felsenberg's lemon/lime tones. This was my favorite of the Donnhoff dry wines we tried.

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  • 2013 Dönnhoff Riesling 90 Points

    Germany, Nahe

    Peachy, mineraly, crisp, refreshing. This won't change the world, but it's a great entry level riesling. What's not to like about that?

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  • 2011 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett 87 Points

    Germany, Nahe

    Opened 1 day prior. Definitely has the creamier vintage profile here. Not nearly as cut or precise as the 2013. Sure, it was opened for 24 hours, but you could tell this was less focused and a bit rounder. Still decent, but not like the 2013.

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  • 2013 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Spätlese 96 Points

    Germany, Nahe

    Hell yeah. Might be my favorite wine year-in, year-out from Donnhoff. So juicy and tropical with an edgy, taught, and precise palate. Textbook Nahe Spatlese.

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  • 2003 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese Auction 96 Points

    Germany, Nahe

    I don't think I've drank too many auction bottlings from Donnhoff. We had been talking with Ann about the 2003 vintage so she pulled this bottle for us to try (pretty generous, huh?). The flinty/sulphury nose reminded me of what a lot of young Meursaults can smell like. Very dense lemon/lime tones, pears, peaches, apples. The palate was bright, tropical and awash in mouth-watering acidity. Thought this was brilliant. Another example of a 2003 that's kicking butt right now.

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  • 2010 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Eiswein Auction 100 Points

    Germany, Nahe

    Not sure I've ever smelled a nose like this one. Super dense perfume filled the room as all of us poured ourselves glasses of this elixir. Apricots, florals, lychee, and pears...but those descriptors won't do it justice. The great thing with world-class sweet wine like this is that the sweetness COULD be overwhelming if there isn't acidity...and this Eiswein was so edgy and tense that the total package was ethereal. Donnhoff's 2010 TBA is another 100 pointer for me, but this was edgier. The TBA had a bit more depth to it. Amazing wine, and the wine of my trip to the Mosel by a wide margin.

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  • 2000 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Eiswein

    Germany, Nahe

    Brought from the US to the Nahe. An advanced bottle that had a lot of good tropical fruits and cream. I think general consensus was that it tasted more like a wine of 25 years instead of 15 years.

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  • 2012 Dönnhoff Sekt Pinot Brut

    Germany, Nahe

    It's very tough to try this wine after the sweet wine we had before it. Very sharp acidic tones with some melon and herbal tones. Reminded me a lot of the Cremants from Jura.

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Flight 2 - Lunch (1 Note)

The folks at Dönnhoff recommended that we have lunch down the street at Hermannshöhle. Very nice restaurant and we enjoyed a big lunch there before heading off to Schäfer-Fröhlich.

Flight 3 - Schäfer-Fröhlich (12 Notes)

Spent a couple hours with Tim Schäfer going through a wide selection of his wines. His wife prepared an amazing potato soup for us and they also had a great spread of smoked fish for us.

Tim Schäfer conducted a very academic tasting for us...his knowledge of his vineyards was impressive as were his wines. I thought that his dry wines were the best that I tried on the trip...right up there with Peter Lauer. He's definitely one producer that knocks the ball out of the park when it comes to GG's.

Flight 4 - Emrich-Schönleber (11 Notes)

Our final visit of the trip, and ES was a producer I knew very little about. Only 5% of their production makes it to the USA and they specialize in dry riesling. Frank Schönleber (the cellar master) conducted the tasting and was kind enough to pull some older bottles out of the cellar for us to try. Overall, their wines were good, but there were some wines that I thought missed the mark a bit. Definitely a fun visit, nonetheless.

Closing

'twas a great trip.

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