2010 Weingut Dönnhoff, Riesling Auslese, Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle, Gold Capsule, Nahe, Germany.
As I’ve said before, while I usually drink and review Dönnhoff’s drier wines, I would be crazy not to highlight the outstanding fruity and sweet wines made here, and this very special golden/yellow hued and nicely evolved Niedrerhäuser Hermannshöhle Gold Capsule Auslese, which was mostly stainless steel fermented and aged, with some large oak casks used, to preserve transparency and purity, was an outstanding way to finish off a great meal. The 2010 vintage was a ripper year for acidity and this sweet honeyed Auslese still has plenty of fresh energy, making this drink wonderfully balanced with vivid layers of apricot, lemon curd, baked apple, creme brûlée, tropical dried pineapple, orange marmalade, peaches in syrup, along with some crystalized ginger, clove spice, wet flint, bitter almond and rosewater notes. While opulently sweet, this Auslese still has that zingy acidity, mineral tones, a touch of earthy loam and underlying stoniness that keeps the residual sugar in check, in fact this wine was even delicious with the last of my grilled steak, as well as with the cheese board after dinner. The vintage’s tension shines now and will allow this age a long time into the future, again the sweeter Dönnhoff wines showing off extreme class and elegance. Everything coming out of Dönnhoff’s cellar is top notch and I love them all, but favorites include the slately Leistenberg Kabinett, the crisp/smoky Tonschieffer Trocken, Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spätlese, great with hot/spicy Asian cuisine, and of course the GGs, that rival any white wine period.
The Grand Cru Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle is set on a combination of slate, sandstone and limestone soils with a good slope above the Nahe River, which, as the winery notes, has for over 100 years, the Hermannshöhle vineyard has been revered as the Nahe’s top-ranked site and the benchmark by which all other vineyards in the region are judged. Dönnhoff explains It takes its name 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, and the name likely hints at an ancient place of worship once located here. This VDP Grosse Lage site faces due south and lies 130 –175 m above sea level and has the mentioned blackish gray slate, along with some extrusive igneous rock, porphyry (volcanic) and limestone, with loads of expressive minerals. For generations, again as the winery says, this marvelous site has shaped the world’s expectations for what fine wines from the Nahe can achieve, this is especially true of Dönnhoff’s legendary Hermannshöhle GG, a wine that is definitely one of the worlds great dry whites. It almost seems redundant to mention just how fantastic the wines of Dönnhoff are and how immensely talented Cornelius Dönnhoff is, but it just must be said and the current vintages are absolutely stunning with stunners throughout the collection, from the basic Trocken and Kabinett Rieslings to the majestic set of Grosses Gewächs. I can’t recommend Dönnhoff more highly, again don’t overlook any bottling here, even if you prefer the drier wines, as the Spätlese and Auslese efforts are sublime.
($60 Est. 375ml) 94 Points, grapelive