Nahe

Dönnhoff’s Norheimer Dellchen, Riesling Ausleseis medium-dry with 11.9 grams/litre residual sugar. bottled 19 May 2014, very delicate, slight, pale grey, with elderberry flower intensity on cool slate acidity. A wine of precision and freshness, truly exquisite. Drinking 2016 - 2026
David Berry Green

Willi Schaefer’s Graacher Domprobst, Riesling Spätlese #5 is dry with 5.7 gram/litre residual sugar from the Hollenpfad vineyard in the village of Roxheim, further from Nahe. The wine has been bottled under the Donnhoff label since buying it from Helmut's brother-in-law in 2010. Literally the 'path to Hell' on account of its steepness, along with an apparent image of the devil located somewhere in its midst, the 2013 is very focussed, (Ostertag) Zellberg-esque, well- textured, with pink grapefruit pith, hazelnut notes, generous, and perfect for early drinking: 2014 - 2023
David Berry Green

We couldn't harvest all of the frozen grapes in a day,-" explains Donnhoff in a continuation of his Eiswein narrative and an account of his 2009 Oberhauser Brucke Riesling Eiswein A.P. #36. "But I was ok with that - it didn't matter to me now. In the afternoon came the news -you can fly out tonight- (to Paris for a vacation). The next morning, it was even colder. Now it was my son's chance, and so there is an Eiswein Helmut and an Eiswein Cornelius," namely this A.P. #36. One whiff makes the hairs in my nostrils stand on end.

The wine's prickly pungency is further reflected on the palate, yet along side is a suggestion of creaminess as well as salted caramel and honey from the subtle botrytis concentration that was present before these grapes froze. More viscous and superficially sweet than the A.P. #35, this simultaneously projects intense acidity, even if - as Donnhoff suggests - some acid fell out after the first day's freeze.

Perhaps that effect - or the wine's embryonic state - accounts for the absence of the vibratory intensity that rivets attention on A.P. #35. We have here the same 7.5% alcohol though from more than 20 additional degrees Oechsle because, explains Donnhoff, the yeasts simply couldn't manage any further conversion. For unifying botrytis with frost concentration, and for sheer palate persistence, the elixir in question here is nothing short of phenomenal. "In 20 years," contends Donnhoff with a wry smile and a nod toward this Eiswein, "Cornelius may be able to beat me."
96/100 points, Wine Advocate, Feb 2011 Until 31st August 2017 this product is discounted by 23%. Prices shown include discount; no further discount will be applied at checkout.

Made from bunches with 50% botrytis gives enticing notes of mandarin on the nose, while the palate’s bracing with iced water acidity, as if straight off the hill. To taste one’s struck by the sheer energy of the wine; something I liken to standing by a river in spate. Woosh! Immaculately balanced at arounf 100 grams RS. Drinking from 2019.
(David Berry Green)

The 2015 Kreuznacher Krötenpfuhl Riesling Kabinett has a "cooler acidity" than the Kahlenberg, says Helmut Dönnhoff, so he considers it as the better vineyard to produce a fruity Riesling with more residual sugar. The wine has a clear and open nose of ripe apples along with some flinty aromas. On the palate, the wine is very clear and piquant, but also generous in its precise, elegant fruit. The finish has a certain intensity and minerality, and this will come out even clearer in two or more years.
Stephan Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate. 30th December 2016.