Nahe

The 2016 Nahe Riesling Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Spätlese is bright, fresh and coolish-piquant on the nose, with flinty and slightly reductive aromas. Lush and piquant on the palate, this is a generous, mouth-filling Spätlese with a long, piquant and spicy-mineral finish. The Hermannshöhle is more dense and rich on the palate, the Brücke more light, delicate and finessed.
Stephan Reinhardt - 28/02/2018

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

Leistenberg differs by being on site, on purple slate, & based on older vines. The result is a wine which shows real confidence, depth & assurance, allied with stunning ‘watery’ minerality – the sense you get when you either lick a slate stone or smell if after a rain shower! Perfect balance even with 30 grams of RS. Drinking till 2019.
(David Berry Green)

Scintillating purity characterizes this fine dry wine (6 grams of residual sugar) that proves that delicious German trockens, thanks in part to climate change, are now more than just a fad. Drinking now till 2020.
(David Berry Green, Berrys' Germany Buyer)

A tremendous wine-making effort from a superlative vintage. Aromatically intense , this minerals & peach-scented 2005 Kabinett displays a satin-textured and creamy palate, hiding a powerful underlying minerality, excellent fruit richness, and a very long finish. Drink it over the next 10 years.

This time on grey slate from the village of Norheim, closer to the Rhine & so warmer. As a result the wine is broader, fleshier, pulpier with distinct soft citrus fruit appeal & character while at the same time being delicate & spring water fresh. One for earlier, midterm drinking.
(David Berry Green)