March 5, 2023 - Nice bit of sweet to end the evening. Drinking well.
February 21, 2021 - Perhaps (half) bottle variance is coming into play. Compared to my previous note the balancing acidity had significantly diminished and so, while the taste profile was much the same (and remains still in the excellent bracket), the excitement had gone. Comes to all with age!!
One more to go and while earlier notes support my consume by '24 estimate probably now in the drink-up zone - especially in the smaller format.
April 26, 2020 - Second Dönnhoff of the week albeit the last was a GG! 5yrs since my last (half) bottle but could have been yesterday.
Pineapple core: restrained, clean botrytis-free sweetness and perfect touch of acidity for balance. No diesel. A brilliant fresh but concentrated simple wine and another seemingly immortal riesling. Perfect accompaniment with our strawberry and blueberry Pavlova.
Now and till 2024 (and probably well beyond).
February 2, 2019 - #16-00, 8.5% abv. From half-bottle. A bit of a weaker vintage, for sure, with the rot here showing a little bit dirty. Fairly dark in colour, though nothing here really points to poor storage. There's a hint of apricot jam on the nose, as well as some caramel and spice. The palate's attack is brilliant, promising lots of sweetness and complexity, but the midpalate and finish seem to taper off, and there's a little bit of unclean rot here, but overall, this is still a splendid bottle of auslese.
March 10, 2018 - Not impressed by this - the most disappointing wine I've had from Donnhoff in some time. The aromatics are pretty, offering plenty of bright fruit, honey, and spice, but the palate is hollow and flat, showing little in terms of either depth or energy. It feels soft and creamy in the manner of some of the weakest '99s I've had, with very little complexity.
March 10, 2018 - Indianapolis IV; 3/9/2018-3/11/2018 (Indianapolis, IN): #16-00, 8.5% abv. From half-bottle. To be sure, this isn't a strong vintage, and I think it shows on the midpalate when this hollows out a bit. But at the same time, the light, ethereal quality of Dönnhoff is on full display here. The attack here is ripe and powerful, and the finish is lifted and light (the weak midpalate notwithstanding).
September 9, 2017 - #16-00, 8.5% abv. From half-bottle. Oxidized enough that this wasn't too pleasant to drink.
May 25, 2017 - #16-00, 8.5% abv. From half-bottle. Perhaps not the greatest Nahe vintage, but this wine provides incredible pleasure nonetheless. The nose truly demonstrates what Terry Theise has called the ethereal quality of the Doennhoff wines -- it is light and airy, but simultaneously packed with ripe yellow fruit and a hint of red as well. The palate is not too rich, but showing lovely balance between the sweetness and acidity. The fruit is ripe, but not overly so, and there is no heaviness here. Some green apples linger on the finish, which is marred by a slight touch of bitterness.
March 20, 2016 - Fersken og aprikos på duft, et lite snev av petro og kanskje noe mandler. Godt utvikla, men ok friskhet i munnen, relativt lett for fedmen. Lang ettersmak av marsipan som ender i litt bitterhet. En vin i godterisjangeren, men med litt ekstra kompleksitet og motstand.
January 1, 2016 - AP 16 00, 8.5 pabv; Terry Theise; $36.50 after buyer's premium; Leland Little Auctions. (There is an Auction Wine with this same label but different AP number). Cork-finished. Up-textured gold-green, in an Impitoyable. Wonderful aged-botrytis notes with powerful and vivid honeyed apricot, but without a bit of diesel. Still fairly sweet and juicy-tart, underlain by tart-sweet Nahe cherry, raspberry, and bacon fat; at first with some softness mid-palate, and pleasant, integrated finish. After an hour or so open and stoppered in the refrigerator, gets more punch in the middle and gains a nice lime-peel flavor there. Barbara says, 'nectar of the gods'. Ready to drink but many years may be ahead of well-stored bottles. 91/100.
On January 3: warm candle wax with a hint of smoke, and crisp apricot. The wine comes forth as simple but luscious, juicy but fruity, a delight.
My friend Andrew and I made some Confit d'Oie (roast goose potted in its own fat) and what a marvelous flavor to have in the mouth when this dessert wine is sampled! We used the bones to make a demi-glace which will I'm sure appear in future recipes, as well, and give us plenty of experimenting with other Rieslings! (Including the 2000 version of this wine, one of the great accomplishments of that very tough vintage, and which was included in the auction lot with this one.) The Cassoulet I made yesterday from the goose demi-glace and the goose meat, lamb, andoille, and salt pork, couldn't be set off by a more pleasant ending.
Happy New Year!