Among the young wines, the Grosses Gewachs were stunning - by far the best expressions of dry Riesling I've ever tasted with the '07 in particular being absolutely stellar (if only more German trockens were like those, and not overly shrill, acidic and tart). The lineup of young Auslese was staggering. All superb wines that elicited a number of 'wow's around the table, with the '06 and '01 my two favourites of the night.
Großes Gewächs
Served with soup
- 2007 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Großes Gewächs - Germany, Nahe
AP #30, 13.5% alcohol. This has an intoxicating nose dominated by a smoky and stony character with citrus fruits, honeydew melon, slate, hints of lychee and burned leaves underneath. Absolutely stunning on the palate, where it's crammed with stony, earthy mineral flavours to the point that this feels more like a solid than liquid. This has immense power and depth, yet is almost weightless in the mouth with incredible balance, precision and clarity of flavour, showing layers of citrus fruits, some pear and melon with some metal shavings and herbal notes at the back end. Finishes very long. Absolutely stunning, and this got even better with air, with the flavours becoming more seamless and the wine taking on a silky, almost glossy texture. (96 pts.) - 2006 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Großes Gewächs - Germany, Nahe
This has a surprisingly tropical character for a dry wine with lots of pineapple, flowers, melon, nectarine, smoke and stones on the nose. Almost crunchy on the palate with plenty of acidity and a dominant stony and saline mineral character with bright tropical fruit and citrus flavours underneath. An excellent wine, although this may have suffered a little in comparison to the spectacular 07 GG, feeling a little rougher in the mouth without the same sense of weightlessness and elegance. (92 pts.)
Served with veal tongue and endive salad
- 2007 Weingut Jakob Schneider Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Nahe
Spatlese, yeah right. This comes across as a full bodied Auslese with layers of sweet peaches, apples, pineapples and cherries dominating the flavour profile. Spices and floral elements emerge with a little air as the flavour elements become more seamless and this takes on a polished, smooth texture in the mouth. Bright acidity underneath keeps it light on its feet, and this finishes long leaving streaks of peaches and red apples in the back of the mouth. (93 pts.) - 2007 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Nahe
AP #08. Starts out closed, but subtle, layered aromas of red berries, minerals, flowers and fresh orchard fruits emerge with some air. Spectacular on the palate with incredible depth and complexity - this shows seamlessly woven layers of sweet white fruits, nectarine, cherries, red berries, spices, slate and some faintly honeyed notes in the back with a sense of real vibrancy, bright acidity and an incredibly long finish. Has an Alpine spring water clarity and purity to it, almost weightless and too easy to just gulp down. Delicious. (95 pts.)
Served with a chicken vol-au-vent
- 1990 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Nahe
AP #015. Bright golden-orange colour with a great nose initially that combines petrol, smoke, spices, leafy elements, apples and some dried peach. The palate is nothing like the nose though - disappointingly simple and faint with some smoky apple and peach flavours and a short, drying finish. Seems to be long past its best, as this was fading with some air. Most of the pleasure in this came from the nose which was superb, but it was alarming to see this at this over-the-hill phase so soon. (83 pts.) - 1998 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Nahe
After a 10 minute struggle with the cork that involved extracting it in little crumbs from the bottle neck and then decanting - we found this was corked. Argh! NR (flawed) - 2002 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Nahe
Incredibly closed down at first. I let this sit in the glass for almost an hour and even then it seemed quite tightly wound with cherries, peach, aloe and smoky aromas slowly emerging. Much more expressive on the palate where there's lots of very youthful peach, cherry and apple flavours, some honey and spice suggesting a little botrytis and a subtle, understated slatey mineral character beneath. Seems to be holding a lot in reserve and gives the impression that it needs more time. (92 pts.)
Served with striped bass, artichoke and pears
- 2001 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese - Germany, Nahe
AP #18. Still very youthful, yet there's incredible complexity already apparent. Shows seamlessly woven flavours of cherries, apples, peaches, pine cones, spices, earth, cinnamon and herbs - this is an amazing wine to sit down with and explore the many nuances and layers with tremendous acidity underneath and a very long finish. This may not have the size and richness of the younger Auslesen poured later, but the complexity, depth and purity of flavour is just mindblowing. Wow. (96 pts.) - 1994 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese - Germany, Nahe
The nose was quite awful, reeking of mothballs, volatile acidity and esters. Didn't bear the slightest resemblance to a wine, more like a chemistry experiment gone wrong. Undrinkable. NR (flawed) - 1983 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese - Germany, Nahe
Still alive, but just barely. The nose is pleasant showing honey, spices, minerals, pine cones, smoke and some faint citrus flavours. Dried lemon, apple, peach and smoky flavours follow on the palate, but show no intensity or depth and start to fade with air. Finishes tart and faintly sour. Tired and long past its best. (75 pts.)
With a cheese plate
- 2003 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese - Germany, Nahe
Full bodied and crammed with rich tropical fruit flavours, honey and spices on the nose and palate. With time a savoury earthy, almost brothy element emerges amidst the dense sweet fruit. Very enjoyable, although this seemed to be lacking in acidity and precision compared to the other young Auslesen at the table. (91 pts.) - 2005 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese - Germany, Nahe
Combines incredibly bright, sweet tropical and white fruit flavours with an intense slatey minerality and a sense of weightlessness in the mouth. Very layered and complex and seemed to be getting even better with air in the glass. Still very open right now, and absolutely delicious. (94 pts.)
With orange-chocolate tart
- 2006 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese - Germany, Nahe
From magnum (thanks Robert!), and absolutely spectacular with soaring aromas of honey, flowers, red fruits, pineapple, spices and rocky minerals - I found the aromatic profile surprisingly similar to the 06 Dellchen Auslese. Each sip drenches the mouth in honeyed cherry, peach and pineapple flavours, with savoury nutty, earthy and stony mineral elements underneath. Finishes incredibly long. Very primary now but a real pleasure-bomb with incredible precision, elegance and depth. My favourite of the night, absolutely stunning. (97 pts.) - 2007 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese - Germany, Nahe
Has an incredibly raw, fresh sensation to it with pure, ripe layers of fruit, juicy acidity and a crunchy minerality. Very primary, but really fun to drink right now - all sweet fruits and minerals and absolutely delicious. (94 pts.)
