From 375. This is a great example of how fresh and lively an Auslese can be in some vintages. The aromatics are soaring, complex, and ripe. But the wine is bright and snappy on the palate, even while being quite rich. Still in a great place, and it will surely hold for many many years like this.
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Quickly turned a dark gold. Something definitely not right here. Maybe mild TCA. Nose very closed. Some charred pineapple, some apple and cooked peach. Behind it or buried away was plenty richness and flavours. Big disappointment, I'd been looking forward to this.
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Delicious with superb balance but I feel that everything is a bit safe at the moment. Let this one go for another 5 years (and this is from half bottle) and then try again.
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From half-bottle..... The balance is outstanding! A rich ripe auslese with real verve and excitement that raises this into one of my top ausleses tasted. This is still young and I have little doubt it will improve with age
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Excellent bottle from 375 -everything is here but this is so young and I kept thinking that this will only get better -still decades ahead of its peak.
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Provided another good example of how much these wines can improve with sufficient age. Great balance across the palate with moderate levels of sweetness and acidity. Maintains honey and peach flavors on the dry finish with just a hint of sweetness.
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Stunning golden color, full of red fruits and crushed stones. Rich and deep on the palate, but with moderate sweetness and finely balanced acidity. Excellent wine, drinking wonderfully at the moment from 375.
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Honey, botrytis, petrol, peach nose. Pure, clean with the acidity rounded but still mouthwatering. However, I must say I found it less complex in mouth than on the nose. Quite mature and not overly sweet. More like a Spätlese. Long lovely finish. 91-92p
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Ripe stone fruits, some yellow apple, caramel, honey, facets of maturation with petrol and firn, and fine minerality in a juicy, balanced and deep wine of fascination, complexity and joy!
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#15-03. From half bottle. Golden colour. Subtle nose of peaches and caramel. On the palate, this lacks the intense acidic vein in better years and in fact this bottling comes off as a little flabby. Certainly there is acid, but it is out of focus and diffuse. Flavours of ripe apples and peaches. The finish, however, is classic Donnhoff -- ethereal and haunting.
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I served this in my wine course. Ripe salty peach nose. Finish goes on for a full 30 seconds or more with beatifully balanced acidity and sugars. Better out of a tall narrow glass than a typical dessert wine glass.
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Very rich yet not overly sweet. Honey, toffee, caramel and tons of dried fruits. I'm not convinced by this. It's very delicious but lacks a little freshness for my palate.
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Dinner at Le Pigeon (Le Pigeon, Portland OR): nose: lush and succulent nose filled with tones of green apples, white fruits, cherries, and some bits of quince as well. Well balanced with real good depth that showed even more as it opened up.
taste: full bodied with a real fatness to it along with medium+ acidity. Lush with deep tones of white fruits, quince, green apples and some bits of mangoes and tropical fruits.
overall: This was pretty young. It probably could've used a decant as it got much better with air. It does feel like this can get better, but one wouldn't be faulted at all by opening it now.
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Much more tropical and honeyed than my last experience with this; there's lots of mango, pineapple and other sweet tropical fruits here with a seasoning of honey, flowers and spicy notes. Lots of power and richness in the mouth, though conveyed with a sense of lightness and real freshness on the palate. Really impressive, though I'll keep my hands off my one bottle for some more time.
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Delicious, true Auslese, so versatile (we had it with a creamy stawberry cake but you could have it with lobster or even duck). Light gold colour with a brassy shine, tropical nose, slightly petrolly on the palate with a mineral, zesty zing, notes of orchard fruits, very long.
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Flat out wow. Everything I'd expect from a Hermannshöhle Auslese; a spectrum of Riesling fruit ranging from fresh pears and citrus fruit to riper peachy and red fruited flavours, layered seamlessly with honeyed, floral and minerally elements and conveyed with Dönnhoff's usual lightness of touch and perfect balance with all the flavours, sweetness and acidity coming together into a seamless whole. Still very youthful, but it's already quite amazing right now.
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I am not going to offer an official rating as I think this bottle might have been slightly off - if I had to score the bottle it would be low-90s. Medium-deep golden color, concentrated. Hint of botrytis. Some tropical and pit fruits. Prominent petrol/oily character. The wine is sweet but it's well hidden, which I appreciated. Tastes like it smells.
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Bottle showed seepage so I had some worries. Cork was rotted 2/3 of the way through -- the top part broke off and the rest crumbled on opening. Decanted through strainer to remove cork crumbles, then back into bottle. Began tasting at 60 degrees. Nose of honey, orange blossom, mineral springs, and a touch of papaya. Medium-full body and glycerin texture. Flavors of botrytis, peach, and mandarin orange; vital acids; 45+ second finish. This is a very nice wine, unctuous although it does not have the clarity of my very favorite Rieslings. If it is flawed, I am really looking forward to my other bottles!
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Donnhoffs and Thai (Sticky Rice, Chicago IL): nose: this was a completely different ball game from all of the other donnhoffs. Very rich, deep, and expressive with a touch of RS, but not in a cloying way, its just there to add an extra facet. Deep tones of apricots, pears, green apples, tropical citrus' and some bits of mangoes
taste: very primary with rich tones of pears, green apples, tropical citrus' and loads of mangoes. Great depth and excellent acidity with a wonderful and rich feel that is light on the palate
overall: this has a long way to go. This came across as extremely young and not completely ready to drink, of course, it is extremely delicious
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Drank at Cyrus in Healdsburg.CA 6/18/07. First and current impression is one of the very best rieslings from any classification or region I've had the pleasure to drink, and I'm an Alsace nut. Super rich and tropical on the nose (but still distinctly stony and "German'), not overly sweet - not noticably sweeter than the 2005 Oberhäuser Brücke Spätlese, but richer and more complex throughout. Perfect acidity with a hint of peach sweet-tart on the finish. Fantastic with all our food up to the red meat course. Tastes great now; not sure how much more it could improve with time, or how it could last in a cellar.
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A Tuesday in Queens: unlike Rovani, i did not detect botrytis in this. but to me the wine felt rather closed. the nose was very muted and the palatte - although balanced - was not shining... but it was a donnhoff. the finish got longer with more time in the glass... but in fact after 3 hours in the glass the wine was barely moving... this is one for the long haul. I preferred the '03 marginally tonight but its hard to guess where these two are headed - except to say that they are both VERY impressive wines.
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Pale white gold in appearance. Very fresh, apply nose, reminiscent of Chenin but with greater purity. A lovely mouthful, which went exceptionally well with cheese (perhaps especially the hard cheese (Wensleydale))
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1/28/2023 - jlm wrote:
From 375. This is a great example of how fresh and lively an Auslese can be in some vintages. The aromatics are soaring, complex, and ripe. But the wine is bright and snappy on the palate, even while being quite rich. Still in a great place, and it will surely hold for many many years like this.
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2/5/2021 - rhapsody5435 Likes this wine: 94 Points
近20年依然活力四射,酸和甜非常平衡,蜂蜜和酸梨交替。太好喝了。
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2/3/2021 - cannym wrote: flawed
Quickly turned a dark gold. Something definitely not right here. Maybe mild TCA. Nose very closed. Some charred pineapple, some apple and cooked peach. Behind it or buried away was plenty richness and flavours. Big disappointment, I'd been looking forward to this.
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4/6/2019 - Lordswood wrote:
Delicious with superb balance but I feel that everything is a bit safe at the moment. Let this one go for another 5 years (and this is from half bottle) and then try again.
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11/8/2017 - Lordswood wrote: 93 Points
From half-bottle..... The balance is outstanding! A rich ripe auslese with real verve and excitement that raises this into one of my top ausleses tasted. This is still young and I have little doubt it will improve with age
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7/21/2017 - bon vivant wrote: 95 Points
Excellent bottle from 375 -everything is here but this is so young and I kept thinking that this will only get better -still decades ahead of its peak.
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9/29/2016 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 94 Points
Provided another good example of how much these wines can improve with sufficient age. Great balance across the palate with moderate levels of sweetness and acidity. Maintains honey and peach flavors on the dry finish with just a hint of sweetness.
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11/14/2015 - jlm wrote:
Stunning golden color, full of red fruits and crushed stones. Rich and deep on the palate, but with moderate sweetness and finely balanced acidity. Excellent wine, drinking wonderfully at the moment from 375.
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10/24/2015 - Mascarello59 wrote: 92 Points
Honey, botrytis, petrol, peach nose. Pure, clean with the acidity rounded but still mouthwatering. However, I must say I found it less complex in mouth than on the nose. Quite mature and not overly sweet. More like a Spätlese. Long lovely finish. 91-92p
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5/2/2015 - WineCellarTV Likes this wine: 93 Points
Ripe stone fruits, some yellow apple, caramel, honey, facets of maturation with petrol and firn, and fine minerality in a juicy, balanced and deep wine of fascination, complexity and joy!
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4/4/2015 - Russell Faulkner wrote:
Very rich botrytis, but not very sweet, actually some quite mature notes, barley sugar and tea, peaking (or peaked).
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3/23/2013 - acyso wrote: 88 Points
#15-03. From half bottle. Golden colour. Subtle nose of peaches and caramel. On the palate, this lacks the intense acidic vein in better years and in fact this bottling comes off as a little flabby. Certainly there is acid, but it is out of focus and diffuse. Flavours of ripe apples and peaches. The finish, however, is classic Donnhoff -- ethereal and haunting.
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1/11/2013 - juffer Likes this wine: 94 Points
I served this in my wine course. Ripe salty peach nose. Finish goes on for a full 30 seconds or more with beatifully balanced acidity and sugars. Better out of a tall narrow glass than a typical dessert wine glass.
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7/24/2012 - WillersC wrote: 92 Points
Very rich yet not overly sweet. Honey, toffee, caramel and tons of dried fruits. I'm not convinced by this. It's very delicious but lacks a little freshness for my palate.
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6/28/2012 - viking60 wrote: 96 Points
Stunner....elegant and confident. Problem is that I have only one left and can't find these for sale.
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6/23/2012 - KeithAkers wrote: 93 Points
Dinner at Le Pigeon (Le Pigeon, Portland OR): nose: lush and succulent nose filled with tones of green apples, white fruits, cherries, and some bits of quince as well. Well balanced with real good depth that showed even more as it opened up.
taste: full bodied with a real fatness to it along with medium+ acidity. Lush with deep tones of white fruits, quince, green apples and some bits of mangoes and tropical fruits.
overall: This was pretty young. It probably could've used a decant as it got much better with air. It does feel like this can get better, but one wouldn't be faulted at all by opening it now.
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3/16/2012 - salil wrote: 92 Points
Much more tropical and honeyed than my last experience with this; there's lots of mango, pineapple and other sweet tropical fruits here with a seasoning of honey, flowers and spicy notes. Lots of power and richness in the mouth, though conveyed with a sense of lightness and real freshness on the palate. Really impressive, though I'll keep my hands off my one bottle for some more time.
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3/15/2012 - indiscriminate palate wrote:
TTTG (tasted blind, notes from poor memory): Very concentrated, sweet, with honey burying the subtleties beneath. Not a great showing.
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9/9/2011 - Captain Haddock Likes this wine: 94 Points
Delicious, true Auslese, so versatile (we had it with a creamy stawberry cake but you could have it with lobster or even duck). Light gold colour with a brassy shine, tropical nose, slightly petrolly on the palate with a mineral, zesty zing, notes of orchard fruits, very long.
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8/19/2011 - salil wrote: 95 Points
Flat out wow. Everything I'd expect from a Hermannshöhle Auslese; a spectrum of Riesling fruit ranging from fresh pears and citrus fruit to riper peachy and red fruited flavours, layered seamlessly with honeyed, floral and minerally elements and conveyed with Dönnhoff's usual lightness of touch and perfect balance with all the flavours, sweetness and acidity coming together into a seamless whole. Still very youthful, but it's already quite amazing right now.
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6/10/2011 - Saint Stephen wrote:
I am not going to offer an official rating as I think this bottle might have been slightly off - if I had to score the bottle it would be low-90s. Medium-deep golden color, concentrated. Hint of botrytis. Some tropical and pit fruits. Prominent petrol/oily character. The wine is sweet but it's well hidden, which I appreciated. Tastes like it smells.
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4/7/2011 - winelover1986 wrote:
Bottle showed seepage so I had some worries. Cork was rotted 2/3 of the way through -- the top part broke off and the rest crumbled on opening. Decanted through strainer to remove cork crumbles, then back into bottle. Began tasting at 60 degrees. Nose of honey, orange blossom, mineral springs, and a touch of papaya. Medium-full body and glycerin texture. Flavors of botrytis, peach, and mandarin orange; vital acids; 45+ second finish. This is a very nice wine, unctuous although it does not have the clarity of my very favorite Rieslings. If it is flawed, I am really looking forward to my other bottles!
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4/21/2009 - KeithAkers wrote: 94 Points
Donnhoffs and Thai (Sticky Rice, Chicago IL): nose: this was a completely different ball game from all of the other donnhoffs. Very rich, deep, and expressive with a touch of RS, but not in a cloying way, its just there to add an extra facet. Deep tones of apricots, pears, green apples, tropical citrus' and some bits of mangoes
taste: very primary with rich tones of pears, green apples, tropical citrus' and loads of mangoes. Great depth and excellent acidity with a wonderful and rich feel that is light on the palate
overall: this has a long way to go. This came across as extremely young and not completely ready to drink, of course, it is extremely delicious
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6/25/2007 - Tarhealer wrote: 98 Points
Drank at Cyrus in Healdsburg.CA 6/18/07. First and current impression is one of the very best rieslings from any classification or region I've had the pleasure to drink, and I'm an Alsace nut. Super rich and tropical on the nose (but still distinctly stony and "German'), not overly sweet - not noticably sweeter than the 2005 Oberhäuser Brücke Spätlese, but richer and more complex throughout. Perfect acidity with a hint of peach sweet-tart on the finish. Fantastic with all our food up to the red meat course. Tastes great now; not sure how much more it could improve with time, or how it could last in a cellar.
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11/22/2005 - Mlermontov wrote: 93 Points
A Tuesday in Queens: unlike Rovani, i did not detect botrytis in this. but to me the wine felt rather closed. the nose was very muted and the palatte - although balanced - was not shining... but it was a donnhoff. the finish got longer with more time in the glass... but in fact after 3 hours in the glass the wine was barely moving... this is one for the long haul. I preferred the '03 marginally tonight but its hard to guess where these two are headed - except to say that they are both VERY impressive wines.
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4/11/2005 - wineamateur wrote:
Pale white gold in appearance. Very fresh, apply nose, reminiscent of Chenin but with greater purity. A lovely mouthful, which went exceptionally well with cheese (perhaps especially the hard cheese (Wensleydale))
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