August 16, 2022 - Peach, pear and petrol with great balance and acidity
April 26, 2018 - Mugnier Musigny Dinner (Blue Hill (NYC)): Fresh, clean, petrol and white rubber over white peach. Salmon berry, yellow raspberry. On the palate the sweetness is in the perfect place and only complements and drives the pear and peach flavors. Delicious stonefruit.
June 7, 2015 - Leo's Blind Tasting Group - June '15 edition (Amali, NYC): Better than my last bottle, but still on the soft side for my taste. Ripe peaches and lemon cream on the palate, but comes across a bit too heavy without much acidity. Eh.
June 7, 2015 - LBTG blind - very very brief notes (Amali, NYC): Flat... Eh... Boring. My 3 of 3 in the flight. 84-85?
September 27, 2014 - The aromatics are pretty; a floral scent mingled with ripe peaches, white cherries, and mature creamy and smoky elements, but the palate feels thick and flat with very little acidity here. There's no sense of freshness to the fruit, and it has a rather dull, heavy feel on the palate without the freshness or elegance I usually expect from Dönnhoff. I preferred this a lot more a few years ago. With some air and a chill on it, it perks up a bit more, but it's still quite a disappointment.
April 4, 2014 - Dinner with Salil (Sun Wah BBQ, Chicago IL): Nose: There is a distinct air of maturity and poise to the nose with quince, peaches, green apples, minerals, and a hint of sulfur tones. There is excellent depth and layering with some punch to the fruit too.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium+ acidity. The feel is very polished and layered with quince, peaches, green apples, minerals, and a good amount of pears.
Overall: This was a lovely and mature Donnhoff. It still has a long way to go, but that youthful zest has turned into confident poise.
April 4, 2014 - Chicago Chardonnay Shootout (Chicago, IL): Just spectacular. Showing just a little bit of age right now, but still comes across as very, very fresh. Definitely on the old school side, this feels more structured and seems to have less RS than a more modern Spatlese. Completely delicious.
May 1, 2013 - A bit of color, light honey gold, just the slightest hint of petrol on the nose, flavors are round and fleshy, medium sweetness, only moderate acidity makes the wine a bit flabby and ponderous; there are some interesting flavors lurking underneath, some ripe red apple, hints of salinity and stony mineral, and signs of age creeping in, but overall nothing too exciting, and probably not destined for a lot improvement with age.
January 5, 2013 - Gustazo's. Good but not outstanding in Donnhoff context.
December 9, 2012 - peach, pear and apricot with slight sweetness and low acidity