Rieslingfan visits Albany; 1/26/2024-1/27/2024 (Châteauneuf-du-Salil, Albany): AP#21-99. I haven't had one of these in a few years, but it's still firing on all cylinders (sadly my last bottle, but thankfully every one from this lot showed spectacularly). Very similar impressions to my last couple of notes - this hasn't changed much, and still shows an incredible array of rich fruit tinged with honey and caramel, botrytised spiciness, and that high-toned faintly horseradishy/gingery spiciness I find in Eisweins. This really does taste like a BA-Eiswein hybrid with powerful acids underneath that keep this remarkably light and fresh despite its richness and sweetness. Leftovers hold up extremely well the next night. Spectacular.
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I've had miserable luck with the regular 98 Brucke GKA (1 corked, 2 cooked), and thankfully my experience with the auction bottlings has been much better. This is the best I've had from this lot - massively ripe and intense with BA-like sweetness and thickness, packed with ripe tropical and citrus fruits drenched in honey, caramel, and botrytis spices with lots of acidity cutting through the sweetness. Fantastic wine, though still very, very young.
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Indianapolis V; 10/4/2019-10/5/2019 (Indianapolis, IN): #21-99, 8% abv. From half-bottle. Yeah, this is pretty much a BA-lite. The intensity on this wine is just off the charts. So sweet and botrytized, with a lovely caramel tinge and a massive dose of brown spice. Incredibly complex and sweet, with a honeyed element on the palate. Unequivocally young, this is a wine that still has a very, very long way to go.
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Auslese my ass. This feels like a Beerenauslese at the very least in terms of ripeness, though there are some high toned spicy/gingery elements to the nose that make me wonder if there was some Eiswein fruit in here too. But either way, it's a spectacular dessert wine that's just bursting with an array of ripe fruit, honey, spice, and orange marmalade, and lifted by good acidity. Delicious, and glad I have a few more.
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Dinner at S.K.Y. (Chicago, IL): #21-99, 8% abv. From half-bottle. I've had a few disappointing experiences with this wine, but this was a bottle that was on the sound side of the ledger. It's a very rich and opulent Dönnhoff in the grand scheme of things -- lots and lots of sugar and fruit, but nicely balanced. There's a generous helping of botrytis as well, but the acidity, relatively speaking, is a little attenuated here. Nonetheless, I love the concentration and complexity here. It's a spectacular wine when it's on.
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#21-99, 8% abv. From half-bottle. This bottle (ex-Wally's), fortunately, was much more sound than the previous one I opened (sorry, Salil). This is definitely on point, though still wasn't quite as fresh as the first bottle of this (ex-HDH) that I had. The nose on this has intense spiciness, thanks to what must be an insane amount of botrytis -- this veers almost to a northern Chinese cumin-based spice mix. Behind this is a huge wall of sweet stone fruit. The palate is fairly consistent with the nose, showing incredible sweetness and spiciness. It's not out of balance or cloying though -- just incredibly powerful and dense. One of those wines that forces you to sit down from its sheer power.
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A bottle sourced from Wally's. Comes across more advanced and darker in colour than other bottles I've had (which came from a Sotheby's lot), though it's still a very good showing. Lots of ripe peach and tropical fruits drenched in honey, botrytis spice, and some faintly high toned gingery notes with bright acids beneath, though it seems a touch short on the back end compared to other bottles I've had. Consensus was that this bottle may have seen a bit of heat, but it's still quite enjoyable even if not a representative example of what this wine can be.
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Dinner at Recess (Indianapolis, IN): #21-99, 8% abv. From half-bottle. When poured, this had a worrying brown colour. And yes, it seemed a little bit advanced. Very heavy botrytis as well as a really heavy dose of super sweet stone fruit. Basically a bottle of Beerenauslese Jr. Nowhere as good as the bottle I had a few months ago. Although this bottle doesn't seem to be in the best shape, it's still a pretty tasty bottle of riesling.
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Chicagoer Rieslingfeier (Chicago, IL): Whoops, missed the AP number on this one in all my excitement. Holy crap is this a dense bottle of Auslese. It's seriously BA-level. Incredibly thick and almost syrupy, but with that kaleidoscopic fruit, mineral cut, and racy green acidity, all balanced on the point of a pin the way all the best Dönnhoff wines are. Incredibly silly levels of botrytis too, but it's pristine and clean. A monumental wine.
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Baby Eiswein here. Incredible intensity and power, with layers of tropical fruits, honey, orange marmalade, and higher toned spicy notes all coming together on the nose and palate. There's immense sweetness here, but also amazing acidity that keeps this incredibly fresh, vibrant, and impeccably balanced. Absolutely stunning wine and I'm glad I have a few more.
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Rich, thick, concentrated. Brown sugar and honey, loads of citrus and apple, pineapple, orange, spice. Loads of dried fruit and spice. Very good acid that lasts through the palate into the finish.
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Big and broad: baroque brown - nose of quince, tangerine and a hint of molasses. Curry and brown spices. Thick on the palate with apricot, quince. Juicy with great acid - searing. Tangerine, mandarin, saline. Delicious with quince-mandarin finish. Nose - 5-4.5/6, Palate - 5-5.5/6, Finish - 5.5/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1.5/2 = 16.5-17.5/20.
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This is a big change from Dönnhoff's typical (non-auction) Auslese in terms of intensity and ripeness. It's deep gold in colour, with the density and power of a Beerenauslese on the palate, and an Eiswein-like high toned spicy aspect to the nose. There's an array of ripe tropical fruits coated in honey and spices on the nose and palate, great purity of flavour, and powerful acids beneath that keep it incredibly well balanced. The finish just keeps resonating. Stunning wine, though I will keep my other bottles buried for some time longer.
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Pretty amber color. Drank best the first night in my opinion. So dense and luscious but charged with plenty of acid. Endless finish. More going on than most TBAs i've had... I can't imagine what Herr Dönnhoff's TBAs are like. Nuclear I'd imagine.
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Auslese my ass - this is easily a Beerenauslese in weight, if not pushing TBA level. Really dense and viscous with a faintly oily texture, packed with pineapple, vanilla custard, white fruits and honeyed flavours - basically a dessert in a glass - though despite its size and very apparent botrytis, this is still very well balanced and really fun to drink with tremendous power and a ridiculously long finish.
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1/26/2024 - kenv Likes this wine: 99 Points
Dave B visits Albany, Day 1: Auction Rieslings, 95 Grange, 67 G. Conterno (Salil's, Albany, NY): [375ml. AP#21-99. Pop and pour. Served blind.] Stunningly complex nose of botrytis, honey, and apricots. Hugely extracted, but incredible balance and harmony. Super long. I was sure this was a TBA. Incredible. Even better the next evening with Salil's heavenly Canelés de Bordeaux.
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1/26/2024 - salil wrote: 96 Points
Rieslingfan visits Albany; 1/26/2024-1/27/2024 (Châteauneuf-du-Salil, Albany): AP#21-99. I haven't had one of these in a few years, but it's still firing on all cylinders (sadly my last bottle, but thankfully every one from this lot showed spectacularly). Very similar impressions to my last couple of notes - this hasn't changed much, and still shows an incredible array of rich fruit tinged with honey and caramel, botrytised spiciness, and that high-toned faintly horseradishy/gingery spiciness I find in Eisweins. This really does taste like a BA-Eiswein hybrid with powerful acids underneath that keep this remarkably light and fresh despite its richness and sweetness. Leftovers hold up extremely well the next night. Spectacular.
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10/5/2019 - salil wrote: 97 Points
I've had miserable luck with the regular 98 Brucke GKA (1 corked, 2 cooked), and thankfully my experience with the auction bottlings has been much better. This is the best I've had from this lot - massively ripe and intense with BA-like sweetness and thickness, packed with ripe tropical and citrus fruits drenched in honey, caramel, and botrytis spices with lots of acidity cutting through the sweetness. Fantastic wine, though still very, very young.
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10/5/2019 - acyso wrote: 98 Points
Indianapolis V; 10/4/2019-10/5/2019 (Indianapolis, IN): #21-99, 8% abv. From half-bottle. Yeah, this is pretty much a BA-lite. The intensity on this wine is just off the charts. So sweet and botrytized, with a lovely caramel tinge and a massive dose of brown spice. Incredibly complex and sweet, with a honeyed element on the palate. Unequivocally young, this is a wine that still has a very, very long way to go.
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4/24/2019 - salil wrote: 95 Points
Auslese my ass. This feels like a Beerenauslese at the very least in terms of ripeness, though there are some high toned spicy/gingery elements to the nose that make me wonder if there was some Eiswein fruit in here too. But either way, it's a spectacular dessert wine that's just bursting with an array of ripe fruit, honey, spice, and orange marmalade, and lifted by good acidity. Delicious, and glad I have a few more.
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4/24/2019 - acyso wrote: 95 Points
Dinner at S.K.Y. (Chicago, IL): #21-99, 8% abv. From half-bottle. I've had a few disappointing experiences with this wine, but this was a bottle that was on the sound side of the ledger. It's a very rich and opulent Dönnhoff in the grand scheme of things -- lots and lots of sugar and fruit, but nicely balanced. There's a generous helping of botrytis as well, but the acidity, relatively speaking, is a little attenuated here. Nonetheless, I love the concentration and complexity here. It's a spectacular wine when it's on.
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8/11/2017 - acyso wrote: 95 Points
#21-99, 8% abv. From half-bottle. This bottle (ex-Wally's), fortunately, was much more sound than the previous one I opened (sorry, Salil). This is definitely on point, though still wasn't quite as fresh as the first bottle of this (ex-HDH) that I had. The nose on this has intense spiciness, thanks to what must be an insane amount of botrytis -- this veers almost to a northern Chinese cumin-based spice mix. Behind this is a huge wall of sweet stone fruit. The palate is fairly consistent with the nose, showing incredible sweetness and spiciness. It's not out of balance or cloying though -- just incredibly powerful and dense. One of those wines that forces you to sit down from its sheer power.
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10/29/2016 - salil wrote: 91 Points
A bottle sourced from Wally's. Comes across more advanced and darker in colour than other bottles I've had (which came from a Sotheby's lot), though it's still a very good showing. Lots of ripe peach and tropical fruits drenched in honey, botrytis spice, and some faintly high toned gingery notes with bright acids beneath, though it seems a touch short on the back end compared to other bottles I've had. Consensus was that this bottle may have seen a bit of heat, but it's still quite enjoyable even if not a representative example of what this wine can be.
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10/29/2016 - acyso wrote: 90 Points
Dinner at Recess (Indianapolis, IN): #21-99, 8% abv. From half-bottle. When poured, this had a worrying brown colour. And yes, it seemed a little bit advanced. Very heavy botrytis as well as a really heavy dose of super sweet stone fruit. Basically a bottle of Beerenauslese Jr. Nowhere as good as the bottle I had a few months ago. Although this bottle doesn't seem to be in the best shape, it's still a pretty tasty bottle of riesling.
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8/29/2016 - acyso wrote: 98 Points
Chicagoer Rieslingfeier (Chicago, IL): Whoops, missed the AP number on this one in all my excitement. Holy crap is this a dense bottle of Auslese. It's seriously BA-level. Incredibly thick and almost syrupy, but with that kaleidoscopic fruit, mineral cut, and racy green acidity, all balanced on the point of a pin the way all the best Dönnhoff wines are. Incredibly silly levels of botrytis too, but it's pristine and clean. A monumental wine.
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12/17/2015 - salil wrote: 95 Points
Baby Eiswein here. Incredible intensity and power, with layers of tropical fruits, honey, orange marmalade, and higher toned spicy notes all coming together on the nose and palate. There's immense sweetness here, but also amazing acidity that keeps this incredibly fresh, vibrant, and impeccably balanced. Absolutely stunning wine and I'm glad I have a few more.
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12/17/2015 - indiscriminate palate wrote: 94 Points
Rich, thick, concentrated. Brown sugar and honey, loads of citrus and apple, pineapple, orange, spice. Loads of dried fruit and spice. Very good acid that lasts through the palate into the finish.
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8/28/2014 - Seth Rosenberg Likes this wine: 94 Points
Big and broad: baroque brown - nose of quince, tangerine and a hint of molasses. Curry and brown spices. Thick on the palate with apricot, quince. Juicy with great acid - searing. Tangerine, mandarin, saline. Delicious with quince-mandarin finish. Nose - 5-4.5/6, Palate - 5-5.5/6, Finish - 5.5/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1.5/2 = 16.5-17.5/20.
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5/11/2014 - salil wrote: 95 Points
This is a big change from Dönnhoff's typical (non-auction) Auslese in terms of intensity and ripeness. It's deep gold in colour, with the density and power of a Beerenauslese on the palate, and an Eiswein-like high toned spicy aspect to the nose. There's an array of ripe tropical fruits coated in honey and spices on the nose and palate, great purity of flavour, and powerful acids beneath that keep it incredibly well balanced. The finish just keeps resonating. Stunning wine, though I will keep my other bottles buried for some time longer.
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7/16/2010 - Tarhealer wrote: 99 Points
Pretty amber color. Drank best the first night in my opinion. So dense and luscious but charged with plenty of acid. Endless finish. More going on than most TBAs i've had... I can't imagine what Herr Dönnhoff's TBAs are like. Nuclear I'd imagine.
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12/17/2009 - salil wrote: 93 Points
Auslese my ass - this is easily a Beerenauslese in weight, if not pushing TBA level. Really dense and viscous with a faintly oily texture, packed with pineapple, vanilla custard, white fruits and honeyed flavours - basically a dessert in a glass - though despite its size and very apparent botrytis, this is still very well balanced and really fun to drink with tremendous power and a ridiculously long finish.
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