Nahe

2009 Donnhoff Niederhauser Hermannshohle Spatlese

Amongst the four brilliant Spätlesen that I tasted in 2009 from Helmut Dönnhoff, the Hermannshöhle is the pick of the litter this year. The wine offers up a brilliantly crystalline bouquet of sweet grapefruit, orange, a touch of wild yeasts, simply stunning minerality, citrus zest, dried flowers and just a brief glimpse of the petrol to come with bottle age. On the palate the wine is deep, medium-full and extremely long and dancing, with a great core, laser-like focus and magical length and grip on the seamless and utterly refined finish. A great, great wine. 2015-2040. 96."Martin Gillman View from the Cellar

2006 Donnhoff Niederhauser Hermannshohle Riesling Beerenaus.

2008 Donnhoff Dellchen Grand Cru dry

Was $105. "As is the case with the Felsenberg above, all of the Dellchen bottled on its own has gone into this superb bottle of Grosses Gewachs in 2008. The bouquet is deep, pure and even more refined than in the Felsenberg, as it jumps from the glass in a blaze of orange, grapefruit, slate, incipient notes of petrol and a topnote of orange zest. On the palate the wine is full-bodied and very fine, with great nascent complexity, impeccable focus and balance, and stunning length and grip on the bright, snappy and utterly seamless finish. A beautiful wine in the making. 2014-2035. 93."Martin Gillman

2009 Donnhoff Dellchen Dry

"The first of the stunning lineup of Grosses Gewächs in the cellars this year shown by Herr Dönnhoff was the magical Dellchen. This wine displays utterly profound depth in its aromatic mélange of sweet grapefruit, oranges, wild yeasts, glorious slate tones, citrus oils, incipient notes of petrol and a distinctive, smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and utterly refined, as it simply dances across the palate. The wine is rock solid at the core, delivers snappy acids, laser-like focus and a huge, racy and impeccably balanced finish that goes on and on and on. A great wine. 2013-2035+. 94+."Martin Gillman

2008 Donnhoff Oberhauser Bruke Spatlese

Was $87. "The 2008 Spatlese from Oberhauser Brucke is also beautiful in this vintage, which should come as no surprise to long-time fans of this great vineyard in the hands of Helmut Donnhoff. The bouquet is deep, vibrant and complex, as it offers up a fine melange of orange, apple, spice tones, slate, apple blossoms and a dramatic topnote of wild yeasts. On the palate the wine is medium-full, pure and very crystalline, with a rock solid core of fruit, perfect focus and a very long, racy and filigreed finish. A terrific and very classic bottle of Spatlese in the making. 2015-2040. 94/100."Martin Gillman "Creamy, quite explosively mineral on the nose. Lovely purity and history in this wine. So communicative. Everything in balance. Just wonderful stuff. Not that sweet. You're not really conscious of the sugar level because it just seems to be in balance."18/20 Jancis Robinson

2009 Donnhoff Hermannshole dry

"The 2009 Grosses Gewächs bottling from the Hermannshöhle is pure magic, and will compete with the 2007 as the finest dry wine yet produced by Herr Dönnhoff from this vineyard. In fact, it will be very interesting to chart the progress of these two vintages from the Hermannshöhle as the years go by, for both wines are absolutely brilliant. My gut instinct suggests that perhaps the 2009er will nose out the great 2007er, based on its even more elegant aromatic and flavor profile. In any event, the great nose offers up scents of pink grapefruit, lime, orange, plenty of wild yeasts, an intense base of slate, dried flowers and citrus peel. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, long and racy, with perfect focus and balance, a great core of fruit, seamless, brisk acids and simply a blade of fruit and minerality on the long and stunning finish. A great wine that does not quite start out life with quite the same sizzle as the 2007 version, and yet, despite its slightly lower score, I suspect that this may ultimately be the longer-lived wine when all is said and done and may just edge out the 2007 twenty years down the road. 2015-2040+. 96+."MartinGillman View from the cellar

2008 Donnhoff Niederhauser hermann Spatlese

"The 2008 Spatlese from the Hermannshohle perfectly captures the inherent elegance that will long define this vintage in Germany, and it is destined to be one of the reference point bottlings from this great vineyard at this Pradikat level in the last decade of outstanding efforts. The bouquet is deep and very refined and elegant, as it jumps from the glass in a blend of grapefruit, apple, slate, petrol, other pulverized mineral scents and a vibrant topnote of sweet, grapefruit zest. On the palate the wine is medium-full, complex and beautifully complex for such a young wine, with a rock solid core of fruit, a lovely sense of reserve, bright acids and excellent focus and grip on the seamless and very long finish. A wonderful bottle. 2015-2040. 94."Martin Gillman

2009 Donnhoff Felsenberg Turmchen Dry

"The 2009 Felsenberg Grosses Gewächs is another absolutely stellar bottle of dry Riesling in the making. The stunning nose jumps from the glass in a blaze of lemon, orange, crystalline minerality, grapefruit zest, a touch of smoke and plenty of petrol. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and just a touch more tightly-knit than the Dellchen, with a great core of fruit, brilliant focus and stunning length and grip on the rapier-like finish. A magical bottle in the making- can only imagine what the Türmchen Grosses Gewächs will be like! 2015-2035+. 94+."Martin Gillman View from the Cellar

2008 Donnhoff Hermannshole Grand Cru dry

Was $105. The 2008 Hermannshohle Grosses Gewachs is another stellar bottle in the making. Like the Dellchen, it weighs in at 12.5 percent alcohol (in comparison to the Felsenberg's twelve percent), and offers up a deep and stellar profile on both the nose and palate. The bouquet is a superb blend of grapefruit, a touch of red berries, slate, petrol, citrus peel and a gentle topnote of fruit blossoms. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep and very discreet and elegant out of the blocks, with a rock solid core of fruit, brilliant focus and cut, and a very long, refined and laser-like finish. The Grosses Gewachs is all made from a parcel of sixty year-old vines on a base of pure grey slate, which adds a precision and transparency to the finished wine that is absolutely extraordinary in this vintage. The '08 is a much more refined young wine than the equally impressive 2007 version, and it will be very interesting to compare and contrast these two wines over the coming decades. 2016-2040. 93+."Martin Gillman

2009 Donnhoff Oberhauser Bruke Spatlese

"The 2009 Brücke Spätlese is also stunning, as it offers up a complex and scintillating nose of oranges, fresh apricot, a touch of honeycomb, complex notes of slate, lime zest, petrol and a topnote of citrus blossoms. On the palate the wine is medium-full, long, pure and utterly classic, with a rock solid core of fruit, perfect focus and balance and stunning cut and purity on the racy and very, very long finish. A brilliant bottle of Brücke Spätlese. 2015-2040. 94." Martin Gillman View from the Cellar