Nose of cherries, hints of flowers and tar, some spice, and a hint of oak. Palate with cherries, a hint of sweetness of fruit, rather high acidity, a hint of bitterness, medium- tannins. Young! 87+ p

Nose with cherries, some ripe strawberries, spice, some herbaceous and animal notes, and oak; it shows a “regular and good” Pinot Noir character. Palate with good concentration, some sweetness of fruit in the attack, spice, ripe cherries and other berries, medium tannins, good acidity, and a spicy aftertaste. Good balance, young, 89(+) p

Colour with faded edge. Nose with some notes of oxidation, red and dark berries, some animal notes, spice, and oak. The attack is sweet and fiery, palate with red berries, mineral and slate, rather high acidity, medium tannins, and some bitterness. In my opinion, it doesn’t “stick together” ideally and the alcohol is too prominent. Unlikely to improve with further cellaring, 88 p?
The designation “Mauerwein” means this wine was produced from more ripe grapes that grow on the vines closest to the stone walls of the terraces in Höllenberg.
This sample made me doubt a bit about the cellaring potential of these "extreme" Mauerwein versions, because the heavily oaked non-auction 2003 that I tasted the day before (Kloster Eberbach Pinot Noir “R” 2003, at that time their most expensive “regular” red) didn’t show the notes of oxidation I found here. Admittedly, 2003 is a weird and hot vintage, and it would be unwise to believe that the behaviour of a 2003 is an indication of how other vintages will show. I can't completely rule out that it was a bad bottle.

Orange colour with some amber at the edge. Nose with smoke and malt, red berries, some dried fruit, and hints of animal notes. The palate is rather dry, not too concentrated, with red berries, some apple, just a hint of tannin, some bitterness and a rather minerally mouthfeel. Drinkable, but too old. 84 p?
This wine is completely different than the 1953 served at the same time.

Orange colour with amber. Nose with ripe red berries, yellow apple, some dried berries, spice, noticeable smoke. Palate with a slightly sweet attack, powerful concentration, red berries, yellow apple, dried fruit, rather high acidity, some tannin, and mineral. 88 p?
This wine is more powerful and has kept much better than the 1963 served at the same time. It is also better than any red from the 1960s or 1970s I’ve tasted from this producer, and it showed rather consistently compared to the day before, not a small feat for a 60 year old wine! When the wine’s age is factored in, my “honest to what I actually found the glass” is very impressive, and it was completely fascinating to get to taste a Höllenberg back from the days when they obviously were very good.

Nose with dried red berries including raspberries and cherries, mineral, flowery and perfumed, spice, some fortified wine nose, and elegance. Sweet on the palate (typical Beerenauslese level), noticeably spicy, dried red berries, medium tannins, some bitterness. Slightly fiery, some fortified wine feeling. Slightly odd, but shows good vigour. 89 p
As far as I understand it was produced from grapes that got sun-dried (“raisined”) in the vineyard, as opposed to being affected by noble rot as is usually the case with white Beerenauslese. This makes it an unusual style of wine for Rheingau.
Tasted from half bottle.

Amber colour. Nose with dried fruit, baked apple, some red berries, noticeable spice some petroleum? Sweet palate, “Beerenauslese(+) level”, noticeably spicy, dried berries, baked apple, rather high acidity. 91 p
Half bottle.

Nose with peach, citrus, mineral, some Riesling perfume, and just a touch of herbaceous notes. The palate is rather dry, with high acidity and a small hint of bitterness. Pleasant nose, firm but somewhat charmless palate. 84 p?

Nose with yellow apple, some peach, honey, slate-y mineral notes, very faint petroleum notes, and spice. The palate is dry, with good concentration, spice, yellow apple; foody and with some bitterness. More fruit and concentration than the 2011 Steinberger Kabinett trocken GK, but still firm. 87 p

Nose with ripe yellow fruit, some honey, spice, and emerging mature notes. A sweetish nose for a Kabinett. The palate is rather dry, with some sweetness of fruit in the attack but not a very fruity mid-palate, with mineral and a foody bitterness. Could be going through a slightly dumb phase and possibly gain from some additional cellaring. 86(+) p

Nose with noticeably ripe yellow fruit, some tropical fruit, honey, hints of dried fruit, and some petroleum. Palate with ripe yellow fruit, decent concentration, just a hint of alcoholic feeling, zest, a hint of bitterness, and rather high acidity. Wonderful nose, the palate is foody but could have been a litte better. 87 p

Nose with yellow apples, some citrus and honey, straw and wool and almost a bit of oak barrel notes, some petroleum; a serious nose. Palate with yellow apples, mineral, mint, rather high acidity, noticeable spice, good body. Foody, rather mature but can take some more cellaring. A very fine wine, but would have been even better with a bit more acidity and freshness. 90 p

Nose with yellow apples and other ripe yellow fruit, slate mineral, spice, some straw and wool, discrete oak barrel notes, and a hint of "sulfuric notes" (of the same kind that spontaneously fermented Riesling tends to get) that I don't find disturbing. A powerful palate with yellow apple, ripe yellow fruit with "Auslese feeling", noticeably spicy, and a rather high acidity. Rather mature, could develop more. 90 p
Nice to see that it has developed in a positive way since last tasted, since it was vinified in a slightly odd way: in young oak barrels (Stückfass, 1200 l) and bottled after 18 months, in June 2009.

Nose with zest, yellow apple, some honey, mineral, some petroleum; an elegant nose. The palate is medium bodied(+) with citrus, minty minerality, and high acidity. A mineral-dominated and elegant style. 90(+) p

Nose with peach, yellow apple, some honey. Off-dry palate with peach, good acidity and a fresh aftertaste. 87(+) p

Nose with citrus, some peach, mineral, some petroleum, discrete Riesling perfume; elegant. The palate is off-dry(-), with citrus, good acidity, mineral, and a fresh aftertaste. Fresh style, young, but not very concentrated for a Goldkapsel bottling. 87(+) p

Nose with citrus, peach, mineral, and hits of herbaceous notes. The palate is off-dry, with peach, citrus, and high acidity. Rather elegant, nuanced aromas. 87(+) p
Compared to the 2010, the 2011 isn't quite as elegant, but is more concentrated on the palate and has more of a Spätlese-like nose.

Nose with peach, honey, petroleum, some dried fruit, a hint of wool. The palate is off-dry(+) with peach, honey, and rather high acidity. Could develop more. 89(+) p

Nose with dried fruit, yellow apples, honey, a hint of white raisins, some botrytis, and smoky minerality. The palate is off-dry+, with citrus, peach, yellow apples, honey, and good acidity. Foody, clearly Auslese-styled, good for a 2006. 89 p?
This wine is typical for the way many 2006 were made, since it shows a lot of "weight" for its Prädikat, but pleasantly enough avoids the all to common bitterness.

Nose with honey, yellow apples that are partially baked, mineral, menthol, some Riesling perfume, and a discrete petroleum note. The palate is off-dry+ with peach, citrus, and a high acidity. Elegant, partly an Auslese style since the sweetness and aroma go in that direction, but doesn't quite have the concentration. Young on the palate, 89+ p

Nose with yellow apples, honey, spice, petroleum, some firne ("old wine notes"), rather smoky, rather sweetish nose. The palate is dry, with winter apple, firne bitterness, and rather high acidity. OK aftertaste, not too concentrated. The nose is better than the palate, but the wine sticks together. 86 p?
It is always fascinating to taste wines as old as this one that are fully drinkable, even in those cases when fully acceptable "wrinkles" and other signs of age means that the score doesn't get that high.

Nose with ripe yellow fruit with peach, citrus and some blackcurrant buds, Riesling perfume, mineral and elegance. The sweetness is at Auslese+ level, palate with citrus, peach, high acidity, clean aromas, long and fresh aftertaste. Very pure and elegany style. Young, 91+ p

Deep golden colour. Nose with botrytis, dried fruit including dried apricots, citrus, some Riesling perfume and mature notes. Beerenauslese sweet, palate with dried apricot, high acidity and a hint of bitterness. Rather pure and elegant, could develop more. 91+ p
Tasted from half bottle.

Golden colour. Nose with dried fruit, petroleum, some spice and some smoke. Sweetness at the Auslese+ level, palate with dried apricot, rather high acidity, spice, a hint of bitterness in the background. Rather mature, 89 p.
2006-styled with a lot of botrytis character and some vintage-typical bitterness, that unfortunately makes the wine less elegant than otherwise. But it does have impressive weight.

Nose with dried apricot, zest, some honey, some botrytis and spice. Sweetness at the level Auslese+, palate with dried apricot, some honey, noticeable spice, and good acidity. Shows good power but not quite the elegance of the best wines of this type. 89 p

Nose with dried fruit, zest, yellow apple, some winter apples, some petroleum. Sweetness at the level Auslese+/Beerenauslese, palate with honey, botrytis, spice, and good balance. Rather mature, 90 p.

Golden colour. Nose with some dried fruit, baked yellow apple, honey, mint, mineral notes, and petroleum. Sweetness at the level Auslese+, palate with honey, spice, yellow apple, rather high acidity, a hint of a foody bitterness. Good vigour, 89 p.

Golden colour. Nose with dried apricots, spice, botrytis, honey. Sweetness at the level Beerenauslese+, palate with dried apricots, citrus, botrytis, high acidity, and a long aftertaste. Pure aromas, elegant, young, 94+ p.
Tasted from half bottle.

Rather discrete nose with honey, dried fruit, spice, mint, and mineral. Palate with dried fruit, strong citrus notes, mineral, botrytis, spice, and high acidity. Fresh style with a lot of citrus and mineral for a BA. Rather young, 92(+) p.
Tasted from half bottle.

Deep golden with some amber. Nose with dried fruit, yellow apple, baked apple, honey, pronounced spice notes, smoke, some botrytis? Beerenauslese(+)-sweet, dried fruit, honey, spice, a hint of bitterness, good acidity, and a fresh aftertaste. The bitterness is a bit higher than ideal, fully developed, 92 p.

Deep golden colour. Nose with strong notes of dried apricots and apricot compote, a hint of botrytis?, some perfume, and noticeable spice. Beerenauslese sweetness, palate with dried apricots, citrus, definitely high acidity, good concentration, some spice, clean aromas. 92+ p

Nose with honey, dried fruit including dried apricot, zest, a hint of botrytis, elegant not very developed. Sweetness at the level Beerenauslese+, palate with citrus including zest, dried apricot, high acidity, clean and fresh aromas. Could develop more, 93(+) p.
Unusually fresh for a wine from Domdechaney.

Nose with dried fruit, yellow winter apples, some botrytis, spicy honey, petroleum, some smoke. Beerenauslese sweetness, the palate is spicy, with honey, rather high acidity, dried fruit, and a fresh aftertaste. Good aftertaste! 91-92 p

Nose with dried apricot, honey, botrytis, some spice, elegant. The palate is powerful and typical TBA sweet, very great concentration, dried apricot, citrus, spice, and high acidity. Pure aromas, young, 95+ p.