Nahe

Dönnhoff’s Riesling QbA is off-dry with 28 gram/litre residual sugar. The fruit largely comes from the pebbly/loam/slate Kieselberg vineyard near Oberhauser. This is pure peach in character, no botrytis, intense lime notes, soft white fruit pulp yet with substance, the residual sugar in perfect balance with the cleansing acidity. Drinking 2014 - 2020
David Berry Green

Hand selected fruit with noble rot from this phenomenal vineyard has given us a stupendously ripe Riesling Auslese wine balanced by sensational acidity.
David Berry Green

Such is its site adjacent to the river, the Brucke Riesling vineyard develops noble rot easily.Yields of 20/25 hl/ha has given us a wine with a fabulous presence, immense grip & an almost meaty dry palate (due to the nobel rot)! Wow.
David Berry Green

The Nahe river flows north into the Rhine at Bingen at the western end of the Rheingau. The best wines from the Nahe have been described as having the elegance of the Rheingau, the body of a Rheinhessen and the acidity of a Mosel. There are several outstanding producers in the area, but the most celebrated is Helmut Dönnhoff, who produces some of Germany’s finest Rieslings.

This single-vineyard Spätlese is medium-dry with 72g/l residual sugar. From Dönnhoff’s monopole vineyard Brücke, there's great, deep-seated power, wrapping a sleek, sublime, taut, pure grapefruit profile. It is so slender, it seems virtually off-dry. Drink 2016-2026.

Dönnhoff’s Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle, Riesling Spätlese is medium - off-dry with 78 gram/litre residual sugar. This is snow-driven purity, with notes of bracing slate and smoke. A wine of extraordinary poise, awesome presence, salivating lime, lemon and grapefruit notes, a beauty, yet so grounded, so effortless. Stunning! Drinking 2018 - 2028
David Berry Green

The Nahe river flows north into the Rhine at Bingen at the western end of the Rheingau. The best wines from the Nahe have been described as having the elegance of the Rheingau, the body of a Rheinhessen and the acidity of a Mosel. There are several outstanding producers in the area, but the most celebrated is Helmut Dönnhoff, who produces some of Germany’s finest Rieslings.

Lying across the Nahe river from Oberhausen at 130 to 175 metres above sea-level, south-facing, this is without one of the great vineyards in Germany, if not the world. Marked by dark grey slate, porphry and limestone elements, it produces a spherical wine, so complete. It seems open even now but deep down it has the spine to last for years.

The Nahe river flows north into the Rhine at Bingen at the western end of the Rheingau. The best wines from the Nahe have been described as having the elegance of the Rheingau, the body of a Rheinhessen and the acidity of a Mosel. There are several outstanding producers in the area, but the most celebrated is Helmut Dönnhoff, who produces some of Germany’s finest Rieslings.

Dönnhoff’s Hermannshöhle Riesling is decisively dry with intense lime notes. It’s also supremely noble, with discreet elegance in a Wehlener Sonnenuhr smoky way. The palate is filled with pure lime flavours, Mosel-style, with both immense fruit but also a sublime slate texture. Drinking well for 20 years and beyond, but will be at its best from 2018.

As ever, Eiswein is the very pinnacle of the range. The 2012 Oberhauser Brücke was picked under near perfect conditions with very little disease pressure. This echos into the wine – for all the weight and complexity here this Eiswein is pin sharp, perfectly clear fruit purity. With such weight and purity it really is very hard to see how this wine could have been any better. The only decision really is for how long to leave it in your cellar, drinking from 2014 to 2050 – and beyond.
Gary Owen, Private Account Manager

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

This sites higher up the purple slated slope facing Oberhauser & comes packed with more botrytis (approx 10% or 2 berries per bunch). The rockier soil & aspect bring a more structured, compact, emphatic wine with layers of sweet limy fruit, stones & spring water minerality. The quality of the vintage is such that the vineyard character still shines through. When tasting this wine Helmut compares to those of the 70s (71), when he vinified in 100% wood; he says it would be too warm to do that now, hence the stainless-steel element. Drinking from 2019!
(David Berry Green)

From one of the great vineyards in Germany, Donnhoff have produced another seamless and superb Spatlese. Showing all the purity of the vintage, this has an effortless richness, yet is not sweet or cloying. Very finely balanced, this has a finish that lasts over a minute. Delicious even now, this will be at its best given 5 to 10 years in the cellar. Bravo! 2018 - 2025.
Fergus Stewart, Private Account Manager

Rich and complete with limes, peaches and even mangos adding a gently exotic backdrop to this most appealing wine, it sweetness worn with a balletic deftness, its finish astonishingly refreshing.

A famous old site, a little further down-stream, with a volcanic soil rich in minerals. The Auslese has creamy depth yet an almost saline acidity, a real overall intensity to presage potential for development over the medium to long term.
(Simon Field MW, BBR-Buyer)

Honey-laden minerality on the nose leads to a densely textured palate of impressively  pure flavours of smoky minerals and botrytis can be detected in its silky-textured, rich, and complex personality as well as in its admirably long finish.Drink: 2007-2030

By comparison the Leistenberg vineyard, tucked away on a steep hill behind the Donnhoff's village of Oberhausen, is noticeacibly cooler, shier even, that comes from both the morning sun it receives, compounded by the clay & grey slate soil profile. Vintage dependent, the vineyard seems to have wallowed in 2011, thanks perhaps to being shielded from the heat of the sun; allowing extended hang-time. It shows great energy, crisp fruity acidity & should develop well in bottle.
David Berry Green

Benchmark Nahe Riesling Spatlese with a pretty ripeness, great minerally intensity that sprouts from ideal Riesling terroir of volcanic igneous rock. Shows a very sunny complexion. Drinking now but will keep.
David Berry Green

Dönnhoff’s 2011 Tonschiefer, Dry Slate Riesling is decisively dry with a mere 7.4grams/litre residual sugar. Coming from the water-retentive, soft, friable soils of the Tonschiefer vineyard, it serves a crystal-clear precision, with notes of smoke, lime, and a distinctly cool apple, freshness. Drinking 2014 - 2023
David Berry Green