Drank in a social setting so didn't take great notes.
From magnum; pop and pour; cold
yellow apple, white cherry, peach ginger, honey; mineral finish. Opens up with more spice. Great balance. Integrated and with slight notes of maturity, but still pretty primary and a lot of life left. Really great wine!
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Deep yellow/golden. Exotic nose of pineapple and guava with some secondary notes. Full bodied and rich with tropical fruit and nectarine on the entry, but a more tart finish giving a distinct sweet/sour contrast. Packed with fruit but not particularly well defined. Completely mature.
the last of my bottles and quite a remarkable one as well: clear signs of a lot of seepage and the cork literally slid out although still in one piece - not optimistic but found a pale almost clear riesling with a gentle sweetness and acidity - delicious!
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Medium yellow. High toned floral and petrol aromas, the latter of which was not present 2 years ago. Light to medium weight, apple and stone fruit, moderate sweetness, and excellent acidity. I did not get as much stone from this bottle as the last one. In a very good place of early maturity, although the nose is slightly ahead of the palate. Delicious, succulent wine.
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Brought to drink at Oinoscent during service The wine shows bright clear yellow color. In the nose, the wine shows medium intensity, lemon, lime, citrus, ripe to overripe fruit, a touch spicy, lime peel, tropical fruit, lemon leaf, a thin nutty layer, honey, a few syrup notes. Palate shows a more youthful profile, felt like a small sphere of freshly pressed grapes, lemon and pineapple, pear and yellow apple notes, medium to full body, high acidity, medium finish with coffee hints. Needs time to open up, I'm not whether it will evolve further though
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Soft cork, required the Durand and a filter during the decant, but all's well that ends well. In the glass, clear, light-medium orange - lovely. On the nose, peach and lychee. On the palate, peach, mandarin orange, mango, lychee, and papaya, loads of almost-syrupy fruit; almost, because acid comes along on the mid-palate and the long finish to keep things in balance. With that said, I'm sure some would call this a dessert wine blind - either way, it's delicious.
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Just lovely... Understated nose of chamomile, orangeblossom, elderflower and soft oriental spice, Dito on the palate, which also reveals lemonoil, apricot and great earthy/stony minerality. Prime-time drinking!
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Bright yellow. Direct, pure fruit aromas without any secondary development. Medium to light bodied. Moderately sweet attack of ripe apple and crystallized tangerine that is incredibly bright. Then in mid-palate, the structure expresses itself with stone, outstanding acidity, and even some lip smacking salinity on the notably drier finish. Dynamic, exciting wine. As I write this, I see that the suggested community drinking window only goes out until 2024; this bottle gave every indication that it will be alive and kicking many years beyond that date.
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#08-05, 8% abv. I can't get over in my head how similar this is to the 2001 version that I had just a few days ago. They both seem to be a little broader and fleshier than you would expect, but at the same time, they both have that classic old school Dönnhoff lightness. The acidity is there, but it isn't domineering. I have to give the nod to the 2001 though, as I prefer the intense, almost tannic minerality there to this wine's more demure and understated nature.
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Full yellow. Tropical fruit, flowers, and citrus aromas. Medium to lighter weight. Off dry, pungent flavors of orange peel and apple jelly with fine acidity and a late burst of slate. Outstanding with verve and more room for development.
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This bottle was in a great spot. It's on the plush side as one might expect, with some heft in body added over the years in the cellar. But there's still plenty of acidity keeping this lively. Brilliant and delicious with Peking duck. Also brilliant and delicious with leftover spaghetti and meatballs the next night. I don't have a satisfactory answer to the question of why I don't drink Donnhof spatlese more often. While not exactly cheap, it's still dollar for dollar a great value.
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Asperg Wine Syndrome Tasting Group: July 2019 edition: Clear, medium, glowing lemon color with green reflexes. Beautiful and young. Clean, medium+ intense, youthful-developing nose with lots of ripe citrus, salt, herbs. Lovely! Medium-dry, with a medium+, almost racy and well integrated acidity. Only 8% abv. On the palate it is all about freshness! Youthful yellow stone fruit, some ripe lemon, wonderful mineral core, some slight notes of smoke. Well balanced, deep, lots pf pressure and tension. Long, elegant and juicy finish. A text book example of a Spätlese at its peak! Will stay at this level for quite a while. 93
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J&VB with RIBBS (Brunswick House): Very drinkable with good attack and mid-palate complexity, but pulls up short. Lacks persistence and definition on the finish. Decent. ***
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Engaging powerful color, and a vibrancy to the layers of petrol and white fruit fragrance that come pouring out. The wine shows great power, and depth of clean but unctuous fruit with peach-honey spike that goes on and on without being cloying. Bordered with a still persistent acidity and a buzzing liveliness that penetrates across the palate in clean waves. Really great showing. Hard to resist pouring another glass.
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This bottle was quite evolved, especially compared to the '04 Donnhoff Felsenberg we had with it. The Felsenberg was a baby- pale, lime, salt. This was much richer, golden. Hard to know if it was the cork (which was not great) or provenance (purchased grey market a few years after release). But I may try another bottle soon to see
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From magnum and served at our first ever Pound and Ounce dinner. Rich ripe and lovely, high recommended. Sweet pure peach and apple in a dense creamy style, yet enough acid to keep lively and finish clean. Tremendous depth of fruit. Not cloying or overly sweet, paired amazingly well with poached quail egg and green spring veggies. Feels like it is at or near peak now.
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#DCInvasion (Chicago, IL): I think this is the youngest-showing bottle of this that I've had (and I've tasted several of the bottles from this lot). This was showing much more white fruit and high-toned acidity than what I was expecting. Likely I wouldn't have called this as something as old as 2004 if served this blind. While it definitely wasn't a spring chicken, it felt as if this bottle was still stuck in that 5-year-old riesling doldrum. I was told it did open up a bit with air, but to me, it's clear that well-kept bottles of this still have a long way to go.
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This was just how I remembered it. Fruit-forward and juicy, with a good amount of tart white fruits on the nose and palate. The ripe acidity binds everything together here into a very neat and lovely package. What surprised me the most here is how pure all the tones were. Nothing muddled or diluted; everything in its right place.
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Another great bottle drinking in a great spot. Has a very sweet, tropical nose of peaches and nectarines. The palate was sappy and rich but had decent balance and edge to it. Lots of dense peach, touch of vanilla, white florals, and cool minerals.
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Was celebrating a work milestone and looking for an appropriately celebratory bottle. What a Riesling! Pristine/crystalline, so light on the mouthfeel. Some other '04s have been weighty but not this one. Not yet in its secondary phase, so the core flavors were still in the pitted fruit spectrum. Served with a ginger & parnsip chicken thigh dish. Really great wine, best Riesling I've had in a while.
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Wish this had been served about 10 degrees colder. The warmth made it feel a bit flabbier and less cut than my last bottle. Lots of lush peach, tangerine, and cherry tones were here...and it had a nice petrichor tone to the finish.
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Chicago ♥ Dönnhoff (Chicago, IL): #08-05, 8% abv. This bottle had quite the spicy nose. Quite mineral though there was a slight bit of funk that muddied the waters a bit, especially in comparison to the Kupfergrube alongside. A bit leaner as well, there was still great balance between all the elements in this bottle. Showing very well right now (as I expect most 2004s are).
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Sunday Night Dinner (Eric & Megan's - Chicago): Pop and pour. Just brilliant riesling that has depth, complex fruit/floral tones, and lots of mineral cut. Drinking in a really great spot right now and paired really nicely with a spicy fish stew.
This was gorgeous, with waves of tropical fruits, citrus and honey layered over a stony minerality at its core; This clearly could use more time and probably would have improved even further with more air, but in a great place now and a great match to seafood stew
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Color is golden with a hint of a green glint. Nose shows intense citrus with lemon oil at the fore and a hint of lime. Also there is a sense of that Riesling petrol. On the palate, juicy citrus fruit is at the front framed by minerality and a wet stone flavor. Acidity is still present and this wine has many years to age. Another fantastic Riesling from Donnhoff!
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888 Seafood Chinese Restaurant: Medium + sweetness, clean, pretty, precise, excellent balance; pure fruit of yellow peach, pineapple, apple; as usual, great intensity and balance, good acidity and zing in the finish. yum.
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#08-05, 8% abv. A very restrained nose with stony notes of lime and a tinge of tropical fruit. The palate also is quite restrained, with a very stony character that just screams big rocks. Flavours of golden apple and sweet lime on the palate with a medium-long finish. A relatively cerebral bottle of Doennhoff.
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Very interesting aromas on the nose of carmalized peaches, apples and brown sugar. The flavors when tasted were very different than the nose showing ripe honeycrisp apple with great sweet and tart fruit flavors. The sweetness is nicely balanced by the acidity and both resolve nicely into a juicy, white pear finish. Overall this was really delicious.
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Lordy, lordy, Helmut knows Spätlese! The fragrance that immediately rises from the glass is stunning, fulling or ripe orange fruits and subtle spice. The palate is soft and slightly sweet with balancing acidity. The finish is long and fresh. A joy to drink! Best served cool, not cold.
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Mouldy cork. Quite sulphured on the nose. Some aromas of dried pineapple and green apple. Hit of effervescence. On the palate this is steely and restrained in character. Not brilliant but excellent drinking spaetlese, if you can get it for a song and a dance.
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4 out of 5 bottles were oxidised. Were probably kept standing up for a while at some point in the past few years before getting delivered to me. Corks were dry with signs of seepage. Contacted merchant for a refund. Only one bottle was as sublime as you'd expect from the expert ratings (It might have been affected though not as much as the others; would have rated it 93, perhaps more).
I had a particularly bad luck with German Riesling. It's odd but some of the best producers ship their cork-sealed Kabinetts and Spatleses standing up in boxes of 12. Perhaps they assume that they will be cellared horizontally as soon as they reach their destination, but I'm wondering if merchants tend to just leave them in their original packaging, resulting in dry corks and oxidation. I now only order them in original boxes of 6 (arranged horizontally). The 2011 is fantastic.
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From memory. Color slightly greenish straw. Nose classic Riesling (mostly primary still) with just a little tickle. On palate this is actually a lot more delicate than I expected. Great fruit balanced by great acid but definitely softening. Easy drink now if you like more primary fruit but should definitely continue to evolve positively over next decade or more.
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Half bottle. Still light yellow. Salty, apple jelly nose. Light, just off dry. Snappy green apple with saline finish. Young, gets the juices flowing. Good stuff.
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Late Nov 2011: pale golden amber color; apple, pear, peach and flowers; fruity and a well-balanced play of sweetness and acidity on the palate; medium/full body.
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Some slight signs of past seepage, and a somewhat saturated cork. Pale yellow. Lively nose with notes of chalky limestone, sour pineapple, and green apple. On the palate, this is immensely refreshing, with lots of green apple acidity and notes of citrus peel as well as apricots. Sweet, but counterbalanced by the acidity. Much lighter on its feet and appreciably different from the Auslese bottlings (thank goodness). Delicious summer sipper for the patio.
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A few wines with an out of towner (Cafe Bernard, Chicago IL): nose: lively and deep nose filled with bits of green apples, loads of mineral tones, white florals, loads of white fruits and some bits of tropical citrus tones as well. Well layered and polished
taste: wonderful medium body with medium+ acidity and plush tones of green apples, white florals, white fruits, and all sorts of mineral tones. Very complex and balanced at the same time with very good weight to the feel as well
overall: this was a real contrast to the 83 that was being drunk. This does feel like another couple of years could be of a benefit, but it is a really fun riesling right now
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Seepage, and another crumbling cork from 2004s. But wine seemed not to be affected. Floral nose, with peach, pear, and stones on the palate. Great balance and length. Once again an excellent pairing with the very hot Hunan dishes from the Fortune Cookie.
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Not quite up there with the last bottle I opened, but still lots of fun with ripe red and white fruited flavours over rocks and salts. That said this bottle seemed a little more closed and less yielding with the fruit not showing the same precision or brightness as others I've had.
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Starts out packed with red fruits, peaches and limes - and then it just expands and keeps opening out, with bright floral and herbal scents emerging and an intense rocky mineral character developing underneath the fruit. Amazing depth, balance and length - starting to show really well now, but still gives the impression there's a lot more in reserve for the future.
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Typical Donnhoff fruit salad nose, citrus but red fruits too. At the sweet end of Spatlese, great balance though not great length, rounded and full though still showing some youthful chalkiness. Good rather than great but will improve.
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Beautiful golden color, and great acidity. Nose of petrol and sugarcane, and beautiful honey and slate flavors. Overall very delicious, but the finish fades away a little faster than I'd like. Very good, but I had higher expectations for my first Donnhoff.
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Hard to describe, but on the old drinkability rating, this was right up there; I could have spent the whole evening supping away at this. This was my first introduction to a good German Riesling; very impressed by the aromas and taste.
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Beautiful. Aromas of petrol, apple - in the mouth a semi-sweet mix of delicate fruit along with great complexity, minerals and a touch of acidity - light of touch but really outstanding quality. Superb.
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Donnhoffs on a Sunday afternoon (Chicago, IL): Nose is rather muted at first, but opens with time to show apples, lime, minerals and lots of flowers and a faint aloe-like note. Much more effusive in the mouth with elegant and precise flavours of pears, peaches, apples over faint honeyed notes, incredible minerality and a sleek, silky texture. Plenty of acidity leads to a long, clean finish.
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A Sunday with Donnhoff and Vietnamese Food (Tank Noodles - Chicago, IL): Only a modest nose that has sweet, ripe apples. But this blows up on the palate with expansive, round and mouth filling fruits. Honey, asian pears, peaches and crystalline minerality. Pure, focused and seamless across the mid-palate and into a long, strong finish. Excellent --- and once the aromatic profile opens up this should be outstanding.
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This is a fairly sweet Spatlese with a firm body, but no aftertaste. Very enjoyable but strongly recommend that you not consume this wine with food. Very good with cheese or by itself.
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Second experience with this wine (first from 02 vintage)...this wine did not have the same verve or depth of flavor...maybe it will build and gain weight with time but thought it was just average...maybe expectations to high
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Clear, bright gold with pear, honey and roasted apple on the nose – showing good complexity. There is a creaminess that nicely supports the fruit. On the palate, this wine seems to be holding back – a bit dumb. There is good stuffing here that just needs time to get itself together. (13++)
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this is a donnhoff...notes? its elegant, perfect, sleek and ..... this is Natasha Rostova... (damn it Jay, my head is working on novels rather than wine) these wines are so amazing that they seem to make the world around look simple. 94 now but ++++ potential
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A superb riesling, the nose was a bit muted and the attack quite soft but it then exploded in the mouth until an amazingly long finish. Still young but drinking very well. Good purity and focus with understated fruit, all in finesse. Great QPR.
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Applefruit, lemon peel, limoncella (lemon liquer) and stones on the nose. Coats the palate with delicious sweetish ripe fruit, lemon peel, penetrating citruslike acidity and stony minerals. Long fruity aftertaste. Delicious.
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$60 restaurant list price. Lotus of Siam in Las Vegas. No formal note. Gorgeous balance of red apple and citrus fruit, along with a floral component. Light on its feet, but perhaps slightly less delicate than the '04 Donnhoff S. Felsenberg Spatlese, tasted side by side. I wish I could offer more thoughts about the subtle differences between this and the '04 S. Felsenberg Spatlese, tasted side by side, but I was eating Thai food (so my palate was a bit handicapped), and I did not take notes at dinner...
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Color is pale gold. Nose shows a significant red berry characteristic along with a stony, slightly limey undercurrent. On the palate, a thick presence of red fruit is countered by excellent underlying minerality and a long finish. Balancing acidity is, of course, perfect. Will get even better with time.
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Such a red-fruited Riesling, with aromas of ripe cassis and a strong cherry flavor to the fruit, finishing herbally. Its minerality is manifesting itself now in a saline impression on the entry.
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12/25/2023 - JRockEsq Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drank in a social setting so didn't take great notes.
From magnum; pop and pour; cold
yellow apple, white cherry, peach ginger, honey; mineral finish. Opens up with more spice. Great balance. Integrated and with slight notes of maturity, but still pretty primary and a lot of life left. Really great wine!
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7/7/2023 - drwine2001 wrote:
Deep yellow/golden. Exotic nose of pineapple and guava with some secondary notes. Full bodied and rich with tropical fruit and nectarine on the entry, but a more tart finish giving a distinct sweet/sour contrast. Packed with fruit but not particularly well defined. Completely mature.
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3/22/2023 - hargy Likes this wine: 92 Points
the last of my bottles and quite a remarkable one as well: clear signs of a lot of seepage and the cork literally slid out although still in one piece - not optimistic but found a pale almost clear riesling with a gentle sweetness and acidity - delicious!
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2/5/2023 - drwine2001 wrote:
Medium yellow. High toned floral and petrol aromas, the latter of which was not present 2 years ago. Light to medium weight, apple and stone fruit, moderate sweetness, and excellent acidity. I did not get as much stone from this bottle as the last one. In a very good place of early maturity, although the nose is slightly ahead of the palate. Delicious, succulent wine.
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9/26/2022 - hargy Likes this wine: 91 Points
still quite delicious although the acidity is starting to fade - would drink soonish
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9/23/2022 - kostaslonis wrote:
Brought to drink at Oinoscent during service
The wine shows bright clear yellow color.
In the nose, the wine shows medium intensity, lemon, lime, citrus, ripe to overripe fruit, a touch spicy, lime peel, tropical fruit, lemon leaf, a thin nutty layer, honey, a few syrup notes.
Palate shows a more youthful profile, felt like a small sphere of freshly pressed grapes, lemon and pineapple, pear and yellow apple notes, medium to full body, high acidity, medium finish with coffee hints.
Needs time to open up, I'm not whether it will evolve further though
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8/11/2022 - jshufelt wrote: 94 Points
Soft cork, required the Durand and a filter during the decant, but all's well that ends well. In the glass, clear, light-medium orange - lovely. On the nose, peach and lychee. On the palate, peach, mandarin orange, mango, lychee, and papaya, loads of almost-syrupy fruit; almost, because acid comes along on the mid-palate and the long finish to keep things in balance. With that said, I'm sure some would call this a dessert wine blind - either way, it's delicious.
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6/1/2022 - jkoenen wrote: 93 Points
Just lovely...
Understated nose of chamomile, orangeblossom, elderflower and soft oriental spice, Dito on the palate, which also reveals lemonoil, apricot and great earthy/stony minerality.
Prime-time drinking!
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2/27/2022 - chbeaumont wrote: 91 Points
Sunflower yellow; subtle, graceful, tropical & slate hints; mellow, neatly understated, taffeta-like texture, light; finishes with aplomb. Decent length. Fully mature. Drink now & next 5 years.
(As per previous bottle).
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9/1/2021 - winelover1986 Likes this wine:
All I have for notes is "quite nice"!
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2/20/2021 - drwine2001 wrote:
Bright yellow. Direct, pure fruit aromas without any secondary development. Medium to light bodied. Moderately sweet attack of ripe apple and crystallized tangerine that is incredibly bright. Then in mid-palate, the structure expresses itself with stone, outstanding acidity, and even some lip smacking salinity on the notably drier finish. Dynamic, exciting wine. As I write this, I see that the suggested community drinking window only goes out until 2024; this bottle gave every indication that it will be alive and kicking many years beyond that date.
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12/21/2020 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
#08-05, 8% abv. I can't get over in my head how similar this is to the 2001 version that I had just a few days ago. They both seem to be a little broader and fleshier than you would expect, but at the same time, they both have that classic old school Dönnhoff lightness. The acidity is there, but it isn't domineering. I have to give the nod to the 2001 though, as I prefer the intense, almost tannic minerality there to this wine's more demure and understated nature.
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9/20/2020 - chbeaumont wrote: 91 Points
Sunflower yellow; subtle, graceful, tropical & slate hints; mellow, neatly understated, taffeta-like texture, light; finishes with aplomb. Decent length. Fully mature. Drink now & next 5 years.
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8/14/2020 - drwine2001 wrote:
Full yellow. Tropical fruit, flowers, and citrus aromas. Medium to lighter weight. Off dry, pungent flavors of orange peel and apple jelly with fine acidity and a late burst of slate. Outstanding with verve and more room for development.
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11/3/2019 - MartyL Likes this wine: 93 Points
This bottle was in a great spot. It's on the plush side as one might expect, with some heft in body added over the years in the cellar. But there's still plenty of acidity keeping this lively. Brilliant and delicious with Peking duck. Also brilliant and delicious with leftover spaghetti and meatballs the next night. I don't have a satisfactory answer to the question of why I don't drink Donnhof spatlese more often. While not exactly cheap, it's still dollar for dollar a great value.
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10/18/2019 - AudunG wrote: 88 Points
Aromas of ripe citrus. Semi sweet. Nice spätlese, but quite evolved and lacks maybe some freshness and energy.
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7/19/2019 - NoTrollingerPlease Likes this wine: 93 Points
Asperg Wine Syndrome Tasting Group: July 2019 edition: Clear, medium, glowing lemon color with green reflexes. Beautiful and young.
Clean, medium+ intense, youthful-developing nose with lots of ripe citrus, salt, herbs. Lovely!
Medium-dry, with a medium+, almost racy and well integrated acidity. Only 8% abv. On the palate it is all about freshness! Youthful yellow stone fruit, some ripe lemon, wonderful mineral core, some slight notes of smoke. Well balanced, deep, lots pf pressure and tension. Long, elegant and juicy finish. A text book example of a Spätlese at its peak! Will stay at this level for quite a while. 93
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3/22/2019 - CADomer Likes this wine: 91 Points
Yellow stone fruits, good acidity, and undertone of minerality. Very enjoyable.
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11/7/2017 - SimonG wrote: 88 Points
J&VB with RIBBS (Brunswick House): Very drinkable with good attack and mid-palate complexity, but pulls up short. Lacks persistence and definition on the finish. Decent. ***
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11/5/2017 - decaturwinedude Likes this wine: 93 Points
Engaging powerful color, and a vibrancy to the layers of petrol and white fruit fragrance that come pouring out. The wine shows great power, and depth of clean but unctuous fruit with peach-honey spike that goes on and on without being cloying. Bordered with a still persistent acidity and a buzzing liveliness that penetrates across the palate in clean waves. Really great showing. Hard to resist pouring another glass.
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11/5/2017 - collin wrote:
This bottle was quite evolved, especially compared to the '04 Donnhoff Felsenberg we had with it. The Felsenberg was a baby- pale, lime, salt. This was much richer, golden. Hard to know if it was the cork (which was not great) or provenance (purchased grey market a few years after release). But I may try another bottle soon to see
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9/26/2017 - hargy Likes this wine: 92 Points
delicious balance of acidity and fruit with a gentle sweetness - drink or keep
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9/1/2017 - andreel Likes this wine: 92 Points
Lovely wine. White flowers, peaches and apricots on the nose, balanced acidity on the palate. Tasted almost dry despite being a spatlese
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4/29/2017 - KenK Likes this wine: 93 Points
From magnum and served at our first ever Pound and Ounce dinner. Rich ripe and lovely, high recommended. Sweet pure peach and apple in a dense creamy style, yet enough acid to keep lively and finish clean. Tremendous depth of fruit. Not cloying or overly sweet, paired amazingly well with poached quail egg and green spring veggies. Feels like it is at or near peak now.
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4/16/2017 - cweiss wrote:
Quite lovely, drinking well, no hurry.
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3/6/2017 - peternelson wrote: 92 Points
Very nice, perfect age, just starting. crisp, clean, mineral, zippy, tasty, long. Akbar
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6/25/2016 - jlgnml Likes this wine: 91 Points
Very young, not to sweet, good place now.
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3/13/2016 - jlgnml Likes this wine: 93 Points
Good color, firm structure, petrol on the nose, sweet but not overly sweet, long finish, very enjoyable. Buy.
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8/9/2015 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
#DCInvasion (Chicago, IL): I think this is the youngest-showing bottle of this that I've had (and I've tasted several of the bottles from this lot). This was showing much more white fruit and high-toned acidity than what I was expecting. Likely I wouldn't have called this as something as old as 2004 if served this blind. While it definitely wasn't a spring chicken, it felt as if this bottle was still stuck in that 5-year-old riesling doldrum. I was told it did open up a bit with air, but to me, it's clear that well-kept bottles of this still have a long way to go.
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6/13/2015 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
This was just how I remembered it. Fruit-forward and juicy, with a good amount of tart white fruits on the nose and palate. The ripe acidity binds everything together here into a very neat and lovely package. What surprised me the most here is how pure all the tones were. Nothing muddled or diluted; everything in its right place.
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6/5/2015 - tooch wrote: 92 Points
Another great bottle drinking in a great spot. Has a very sweet, tropical nose of peaches and nectarines. The palate was sappy and rich but had decent balance and edge to it. Lots of dense peach, touch of vanilla, white florals, and cool minerals.
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5/30/2015 - Eric wrote: flawed
Riesling rendezvous (Bern, Switzerland): Brutally corked.
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5/5/2015 - btock Likes this wine: 95 Points
Was celebrating a work milestone and looking for an appropriately celebratory bottle. What a Riesling! Pristine/crystalline, so light on the mouthfeel. Some other '04s have been weighty but not this one. Not yet in its secondary phase, so the core flavors were still in the pitted fruit spectrum. Served with a ginger & parnsip chicken thigh dish. Really great wine, best Riesling I've had in a while.
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3/11/2015 - Sennma wrote: 91 Points
This came across as leaner than the Kabinetts that we tasted earlier. Good acidity and balance. one of my favorite vineyards in the Donnhoff stable.
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3/4/2015 - tooch wrote:
Wish this had been served about 10 degrees colder. The warmth made it feel a bit flabbier and less cut than my last bottle. Lots of lush peach, tangerine, and cherry tones were here...and it had a nice petrichor tone to the finish.
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3/4/2015 - acyso wrote: 90 Points
Chicago ♥ Dönnhoff (Chicago, IL): #08-05, 8% abv. This bottle had quite the spicy nose. Quite mineral though there was a slight bit of funk that muddied the waters a bit, especially in comparison to the Kupfergrube alongside. A bit leaner as well, there was still great balance between all the elements in this bottle. Showing very well right now (as I expect most 2004s are).
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2/15/2015 - tooch wrote: 94 Points
Sunday Night Dinner (Eric & Megan's - Chicago): Pop and pour. Just brilliant riesling that has depth, complex fruit/floral tones, and lots of mineral cut. Drinking in a really great spot right now and paired really nicely with a spicy fish stew.
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2/15/2015 - eluebchow wrote: 93 Points
This was gorgeous, with waves of tropical fruits, citrus and honey layered over a stony minerality at its core; This clearly could use more time and probably would have improved even further with more air, but in a great place now and a great match to seafood stew
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2/10/2015 - MikeZ Likes this wine:
Wonderful bottle of wine. Full throttle spatlese.
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12/31/2014 - cweiss Likes this wine:
NYE Eastman.Not quite the weightless intensity of the Best Donnhoffs, but no complaint. Drinking well but another year or two might be worthwhile.
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9/12/2014 - Thilo Likes this wine: 93 Points
Color is golden with a hint of a green glint. Nose shows intense citrus with lemon oil at the fore and a hint of lime. Also there is a sense of that Riesling petrol. On the palate, juicy citrus fruit is at the front framed by minerality and a wet stone flavor. Acidity is still present and this wine has many years to age. Another fantastic Riesling from Donnhoff!
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6/8/2014 - peternelson wrote: 92 Points
888 Seafood Chinese Restaurant: Medium + sweetness, clean, pretty, precise, excellent balance; pure fruit of yellow peach, pineapple, apple; as usual, great intensity and balance, good acidity and zing in the finish. yum.
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4/8/2014 - acyso wrote: 90 Points
#08-05, 8% abv. A very restrained nose with stony notes of lime and a tinge of tropical fruit. The palate also is quite restrained, with a very stony character that just screams big rocks. Flavours of golden apple and sweet lime on the palate with a medium-long finish. A relatively cerebral bottle of Doennhoff.
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11/13/2013 - Burgundy Al wrote: 91 Points
A Few Wines at Wally's Inaugural Wine Auction (Whitney Museum of American Art - New York NY): Fresh and dried stone fruit aromas and flavors with some apple and lemon rind hints. Opulent and ripe for Spatlese, but enough energy to keep this food friendly.
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9/14/2013 - reubenshapcott wrote: 94 Points
Liquid gold.
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8/15/2013 - gripNsip Likes this wine: 91 Points
Very interesting aromas on the nose of carmalized peaches, apples and brown sugar. The flavors when tasted were very different than the nose showing ripe honeycrisp apple with great sweet and tart fruit flavors. The sweetness is nicely balanced by the acidity and both resolve nicely into a juicy, white pear finish. Overall this was really delicious.
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7/13/2013 - kenv Likes this wine: 95 Points
Lordy, lordy, Helmut knows Spätlese! The fragrance that immediately rises from the glass is stunning, fulling or ripe orange fruits and subtle spice. The palate is soft and slightly sweet with balancing acidity. The finish is long and fresh. A joy to drink! Best served cool, not cold.
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2/17/2013 - curtispomeroy wrote: 91 Points
I really liked this wine.
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2/9/2013 - sooper65 wrote: 90 Points
So pure, clean, vibrant - racy with gorgeous Riesling character.
Love this.
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12/18/2012 - acyso wrote: 88 Points
Mouldy cork. Quite sulphured on the nose. Some aromas of dried pineapple and green apple. Hit of effervescence. On the palate this is steely and restrained in character. Not brilliant but excellent drinking spaetlese, if you can get it for a song and a dance.
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10/1/2012 - Herschel Krustofski wrote: flawed
4 out of 5 bottles were oxidised. Were probably kept standing up for a while at some point in the past few years before getting delivered to me.
Corks were dry with signs of seepage. Contacted merchant for a refund. Only one bottle was as sublime as you'd expect from the expert ratings (It might have been affected though not as much as the others; would have rated it 93, perhaps more).
I had a particularly bad luck with German Riesling. It's odd but some of the best producers ship their cork-sealed Kabinetts and Spatleses standing up in boxes of 12. Perhaps they assume that they will be cellared horizontally as soon as they reach their destination, but I'm wondering if merchants tend to just leave them in their original packaging, resulting in dry corks and oxidation. I now only order them in original boxes of 6 (arranged horizontally). The 2011 is fantastic.
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8/18/2012 - chcook wrote:
From memory. Color slightly greenish straw. Nose classic Riesling (mostly primary still) with just a little tickle. On palate this is actually a lot more delicate than I expected. Great fruit balanced by great acid but definitely softening. Easy drink now if you like more primary fruit but should definitely continue to evolve positively over next decade or more.
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6/24/2012 - HofstraJet wrote: 95 Points
Wow. Just great.
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5/17/2012 - humagne wrote: 92 Points
Begins to show some maturity. Can start drinking.
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4/22/2012 - cweiss wrote:
Magic bus. Suffered coming after 2001 Willi Schaeffer auction wine, but good in its own right. Probably another two years before the next bottle.
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1/26/2012 - drwine2001 wrote:
Half bottle. Still light yellow. Salty, apple jelly nose. Light, just off dry. Snappy green apple with saline finish. Young, gets the juices flowing. Good stuff.
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12/31/2011 - vintage61 wrote: 92 Points
Popped and poured. With Starla, to Mike's Bacchanalia. Excellent bottle, as expected. Kept bottle with us to get maximum pours.
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11/22/2011 - Fatty Cat wrote: 92 Points
Late Nov 2011: pale golden amber color; apple, pear, peach and flowers; fruity and a well-balanced play of sweetness and acidity on the palate; medium/full body.
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10/23/2011 - drwine2001 wrote:
Enticing combination of richness, some residual sugar and green papaya/menthol. Beautiful balance and no secondary notes yet.
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8/21/2011 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
Some slight signs of past seepage, and a somewhat saturated cork. Pale yellow. Lively nose with notes of chalky limestone, sour pineapple, and green apple. On the palate, this is immensely refreshing, with lots of green apple acidity and notes of citrus peel as well as apricots. Sweet, but counterbalanced by the acidity. Much lighter on its feet and appreciably different from the Auslese bottlings (thank goodness). Delicious summer sipper for the patio.
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8/15/2011 - KeithAkers wrote: 93 Points
A few wines with an out of towner (Cafe Bernard, Chicago IL): nose: lively and deep nose filled with bits of green apples, loads of mineral tones, white florals, loads of white fruits and some bits of tropical citrus tones as well. Well layered and polished
taste: wonderful medium body with medium+ acidity and plush tones of green apples, white florals, white fruits, and all sorts of mineral tones. Very complex and balanced at the same time with very good weight to the feel as well
overall: this was a real contrast to the 83 that was being drunk. This does feel like another couple of years could be of a benefit, but it is a really fun riesling right now
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2/16/2011 - M.Batard wrote: 93 Points
Seepage, and another crumbling cork from 2004s. But wine seemed not to be affected. Floral nose, with peach, pear, and stones on the palate. Great balance and length. Once again an excellent pairing with the very hot Hunan dishes from the Fortune Cookie.
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11/13/2010 - marc d wrote:
At the raclette dinner.
Lovely, powerful nose of funk and red fruit, citrus and stones.
Delicious, maybe WOTN.
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4/2/2010 - jeff nowak wrote: 89 Points
no complaints, but lacked tension and verve. a solid wine of little distinction.
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1/27/2010 - salil wrote: 91 Points
Not quite up there with the last bottle I opened, but still lots of fun with ripe red and white fruited flavours over rocks and salts. That said this bottle seemed a little more closed and less yielding with the fruit not showing the same precision or brightness as others I've had.
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1/7/2010 - salil wrote: 94 Points
Fantastic again with amazing depth and layers of flowers, red and white fruits over an expansive mineral base and really good acidity.
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12/3/2009 - salil wrote: 93 Points
Starts out packed with red fruits, peaches and limes - and then it just expands and keeps opening out, with bright floral and herbal scents emerging and an intense rocky mineral character developing underneath the fruit. Amazing depth, balance and length - starting to show really well now, but still gives the impression there's a lot more in reserve for the future.
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8/16/2009 - kevin h wrote: 90 Points
Typical Donnhoff fruit salad nose, citrus but red fruits too. At the sweet end of Spatlese, great balance though not great length, rounded and full though still showing some youthful chalkiness. Good rather than great but will improve.
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7/1/2009 - tendring Likes this wine: 82 Points
Wine Society - A Riesling Renaissance (The Florence Hall, RIBA): Interesting nose, inviting and complex.
Still too young and rather cloying.
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6/27/2009 - Peech wrote:
Smoky nose with minerals, petrol and lemon notes. It's a nice and easy wine to drink, with a slightly sweet palate like a Spätlese.
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4/25/2009 - christyler wrote: 90 Points
Beautiful golden color, and great acidity. Nose of petrol and sugarcane, and beautiful honey and slate flavors. Overall very delicious, but the finish fades away a little faster than I'd like. Very good, but I had higher expectations for my first Donnhoff.
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3/16/2009 - kwaky wrote: 92 Points
Hard to describe, but on the old drinkability rating, this was right up there; I could have spent the whole evening supping away at this. This was my first introduction to a good German Riesling; very impressed by the aromas and taste.
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3/13/2009 - pjaines wrote:
Beautiful. Aromas of petrol, apple - in the mouth a semi-sweet mix of delicate fruit along with great complexity, minerals and a touch of acidity - light of touch but really outstanding quality. Superb.
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12/9/2007 - salil wrote: 94 Points
Donnhoffs on a Sunday afternoon (Chicago, IL): Nose is rather muted at first, but opens with time to show apples, lime, minerals and lots of flowers and a faint aloe-like note. Much more effusive in the mouth with elegant and precise flavours of pears, peaches, apples over faint honeyed notes, incredible minerality and a sleek, silky texture. Plenty of acidity leads to a long, clean finish.
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12/9/2007 - Nanda wrote: 92 Points
A Sunday with Donnhoff and Vietnamese Food (Tank Noodles - Chicago, IL): Only a modest nose that has sweet, ripe apples. But this blows up on the palate with expansive, round and mouth filling fruits. Honey, asian pears, peaches and crystalline minerality. Pure, focused and seamless across the mid-palate and into a long, strong finish. Excellent --- and once the aromatic profile opens up this should be outstanding.
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2/25/2007 - PapaBoomBoom wrote: 90 Points
This is a fairly sweet Spatlese with a firm body, but no aftertaste. Very enjoyable but strongly recommend that you not consume this wine with food. Very good with cheese or by itself.
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8/18/2006 - JBVino wrote:
Second experience with this wine (first from 02 vintage)...this wine did not have the same verve or depth of flavor...maybe it will build and gain weight with time but thought it was just average...maybe expectations to high
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8/12/2006 - MartyL wrote:
Delicious balance of tropical fruit, minerals and acid.
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7/30/2006 - dbkitc wrote:
Clear, bright gold with pear, honey and roasted apple on the nose – showing good complexity. There is a creaminess that nicely supports the fruit. On the palate, this wine seems to be holding back – a bit dumb. There is good stuffing here that just needs time to get itself together. (13++)
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7/23/2006 - Mlermontov wrote: 94 Points
German Riesling Offline (Counts Manor): once again - WS 90, IWC (not david s) 89, WA (david S) 94...and who is right? David S.... :)
this is a donnhoff...notes? its elegant, perfect, sleek and ..... this is Natasha Rostova... (damn it Jay, my head is working on novels rather than wine)
these wines are so amazing that they seem to make the world around look simple. 94 now but ++++ potential
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5/28/2006 - Will wrote:
A superb riesling, the nose was a bit muted and the attack quite soft but it then exploded in the mouth until an amazingly long finish. Still young but drinking very well. Good purity and focus with understated fruit, all in finesse. Great QPR.
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3/25/2006 - Jozefs wrote: 93 Points
Applefruit, lemon peel, limoncella (lemon liquer) and stones on the nose. Coats the palate with delicious sweetish ripe fruit, lemon peel, penetrating citruslike acidity and stony minerals. Long fruity aftertaste. Delicious.
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1/28/2006 - carlwhat wrote:
Fabulous bottle of wine. Made me rethink rieslings...
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1/21/2006 - Ben Andersen wrote:
$60 restaurant list price. Lotus of Siam in Las Vegas. No formal note. Gorgeous balance of red apple and citrus fruit, along with a floral component. Light on its feet, but perhaps slightly less delicate than the '04 Donnhoff S. Felsenberg Spatlese, tasted side by side. I wish I could offer more thoughts about the subtle differences between this and the '04 S. Felsenberg Spatlese, tasted side by side, but I was eating Thai food (so my palate was a bit handicapped), and I did not take notes at dinner...
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1/13/2006 - Thilo wrote: 93 Points
Color is pale gold. Nose shows a significant red berry characteristic along with a stony, slightly limey undercurrent. On the palate, a thick presence of red fruit is countered by excellent underlying minerality and a long finish. Balancing acidity is, of course, perfect. Will get even better with time.
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12/8/2005 - Keith Levenberg wrote: 91 Points
Such a red-fruited Riesling, with aromas of ripe cassis and a strong cherry flavor to the fruit, finishing herbally. Its minerality is manifesting itself now in a saline impression on the entry.
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