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

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

Hollenpfad' meaning 'the path to hell' (as opposed to 'the stairway to heaven'?) & is a vineyard detached from the rive Nahe in the village of Noxheim. Here it endures a hotter microclimate, compounded by red slate & steep slopes. The Riesling fruit is consequently very small & spicy. The 2011 example appears dry, soft with a loamy texture, & noticeably lower acidity; under 200 cases in total were made. Drinking but will keep if not improve.
David Berry Green

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)

Vinified as per the other wines in a combination of old 1200 litre German Hosch wooden barrels/fuders & stainless steel, the Brucke Spatlese glows with an extra 5% botrytis. The later harvest brings more ripeness but also retains great purity of lemony fruit that caresses the palate. I love the way this wine ebbs & flows, just like the river (Nahe) alongside which the vineyard lies – it’s famous for its Eiswein too! Residual sugar is at approx 75 grams yet it seems like half that, such is the lifting acidity. Drinking till 2019+.
(David Berry Green)

Fermented in large old 25hl wooden barrels, the wine has more than a Kabinett, white flower feel to it in 2010 being both gentle as well as refreshingly crunchy.
(David Berry Green, Berrys' Germany Buyer)

While Brücke’s character is favoured by Helmut’s mother, Hermannshöhle is very much his father’s; female versus male. Hermannshöhle has prime position overlooking Oberhäusen, on free-draining grey slate. Helmut also favours it, seeing it as the region’s primary vineyard; their original plot planted in the year he was born: 1949. Focussed and filigree there’s a smoky linearity that streaks ahead, underpin by a cool rocky fruit. Drinking from 2020.
(David Berry Green, Berrys' Germany Buyer)

The Leistenberg vineyard benefits from being south-east facing, enabling the morning dew to be quickly dried, so avoiding botrytis and facilitating a long hang time till the November harvest in 2010. As the result the wine’s spotlessly clean; the porous grey slate enabling the soil’s calcareous minerality to be felt. Soft, gentle, pulpy lemon and feminine. Drinking now or will develop till 2020.
(David Berry Green, Berrys' Germany Buyer)

Lying on the river’s edge the loamy Brücke vineyard quickly develops a rich botrytic character. In 2010 the c. 75 grams of residual sugar is perfectly in tune with its 10 grams of natural acidity, treating us to a wine with amazing zip and snow-like purity; Helmut feels it literally dances on the palate! Drinking now and till 2025 at least
(David Berry Green, Berrys' Germany Buyer)