2023 Dönnhoff, Riesling Trocken, Hermannshöhle, VDP Grosses Gewachs, Nahe Germany.
I needed a moment to gather myself and my thoughts after tasting this 2023 Hermannshöhle, such was the striking precision and quality here in this Grand Cru Dry Riesling, and words absolutely fail to describe what is in the glass, except maybe perfection. In fact maybe this wine will be a 110 out of 100 in the years to come, interesting I think giving this wine a 100 Points will almost take away from the anticipation and wondrous joy of Riesling fans that get a chance to experience this magical effort. Less flashy than the recently reviewed Felsenberg GG, this crystalline Hermannshöhle GG shows off a classic slatey/flinty mineral driven palate with lime, green apple, tart apricot and quince, along with subtle smokiness, delicate white blossom, saline, spice and citron oil. There’s tremendous depth and grace here, it easily rivals the white wine greats of the world and there’s so much more to come, just wow. Dönnhoff, which is located in the village of Oberhäusen an der Nahe, is one of the Nahe superstars and the full range of wines here are exceptional and these 2023s are stellar collection of dry Rieslings by winemaker Cornelius Dönnhoff, who produced some of greatest pre-release samples I’ve ever tried, especially this perfect Hermannshöhle. The Dönnhoff family, as noted here many times, arrived in the Nahe region over 200 years ago, and their modest farm slowly evolved into one of Europe’s greatest wine estates, making some of most desirable dry, off-dry and sweet wines in the world. The Grosses Gewachs dry wines, like this one, are typically fermented in Dönnhoff’s traditional German casks (1200 L stuck and 2400 L doppelstuck), with the lighter and or sweeter wines seeing mostly stainless steel, with both allowed to go through spontaneous fermentations. Though, interestingly, as Terry Theise, who introduced me to these wines, notes that Donnhoff’s cellar is unique in its capacity to hold all of its production entirely in stainless steel or in wood casks, allowing for the ideal élevage for any of wines at any point during a vintage, depending on the nature of the vintage or personality of each wine.
Helmut Dönnhoff, who is credited with bringing this property into the limelight had been making the wine since 1966, and now his son Cornelius, the 4th generation to run this historic winery and their 25ha of Grand Cru vineyards, has increased the fame of these wines as the winemaker. The Riesling vines here at Dönnhoff are old clones which according to the winery were sourced from sites in Niederhausen and Schloßböckelheim and the estate vines are farmed with holistic and mainly organic practices to preserve the soils here and produce the highest possible quality grapes, which are mostly Riesling. A vineyard that has the same prestige as Montrachet, the Niederhauser Hermannshöhle is one of Germany’s and especially the Nahe region’s jewels with some of the best and historic wines coming from this spectacular site above the river. As noted by the winery and wine lovers for over a hundred years, the Hermannshöhle has been revered as one of the Nahe‘s best vineyards and is a benchmark for the Nahe. It most likely takes its name, according to the Dönnhoff family, from a small mine, or “Höhle”, in the middle of the hillside and “Hermann” is derived from Hermes, the Roman god of messengers and travelers. The name likely hints at an ancient place of worship once located here, in Germany’s smallest region that straddles the Rheinhessen and the Rheingau. The VDP Grosse Lage Hermannshöhle vineyard faces due south and sits up around 150 meters above sea level and has a combination of complex soils with a lot of slate, mixed with igneous rock, porphyry (volcanic) and limestone elements. The mature and organically farmed vines are on steep slope and there is micro parcels here that allow making of both dry and sweet Riesling treasures. It should be noted that the Dönnhoff Riesling vines are all old clones and are quite distinctive in character and add tons of terroir personality, in particular in their Grand Cru wines, such as Klamm, Brücke, Leistenberg, Felsenberg, Kirschheck, Dellchen, Krötenpfuhl, Kahlenberg, and Höllenpfad. I was grateful to taste through Dönnhoff’s 2023s early this Summer and I again was blown away with each and every wine in the limited collection of samples and I highly recommend pre-booking a lot this amazing vintage, especially this unbelievable Hermannshöhle GG!
($100 Est.) 99 Points, grapelive