2004 Dönnhoff Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spätlese- Germany, Nahe (8/19/2018)
Consistent with my note from January. Donnhoff just doesn’t do it for me. Everything about this wine was correct - balance, fruit, acid, went with the food…no complaints. But nothing about it made me long for another sip, even when it was a good pairing with the food. I’d take Willi every day, given the option. I suppose it’s not unusual for my tastes to have changed over the years from the first Riesling producer I bought in quantity to now. I can’t remember the last time a Donnhoff impressed me. Ah well, at least I don’t have that much left.
2004 Dönnhoff Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spätlese- Germany, Nahe (1/27/2018)
I have owned these bottles for a number of years, as I bought Donnhoff based on word of mouth when I first got interested in Riesling. These days we mostly drink GGs and trocken wines, but I decided to open this with a spicy and rich red curry. Though quite correct in all respects and a very proper pairing, my impressions here bear out something I’ve come to realize - I just don’t like Donnhoff very much. I’ve tasted across the spectrum, probably well over 100 bottles over the years, and while I think the spatleses are exceptionally well made (and the house’s strength, IMO), they are not really to my taste. Unless they are quite cold, and consumed with food, I find them lacking in structure and zing. This particular bottle was no exception. As soon as it warmed in the glass, it became too soft and spongy for me. As a point of comparison, I do not generally like my white wines terribly cold. Even at the preferred temperature, nothing about this wine grabbed me. It was very nice, but no more. In keeping with my general Donnhoff experiences.
I’m on your side. Try and try again, I find Donnhoff to be just Riesling wine and no profundity. I think it’s a lack of acidity that reduces zing and minerality—things I look for.
I, too, sometimes find myself want a bit more acid zip in Donnhoffs, and sometimes have been disappointed by the wines. But I’ve also found that they quite often surprise when they have some air, and sometimes the acid becomes more conspicuous with some breathing. I remember a '99 Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Spätlese opened in 2009 that seemed boring and sweet at first (like a lot of '99s in that period) but eventually showed superb aromatics and good structure. More than any other sweet German riesling I can think of, Donnhoff’s wines seem to benefit from decanting.
But if you’ve been raised on Mosel rieslings like me, it’s hard not to be searching for that steely backbone of acidity they show.
I should add that I’ve had many JJ Prums that showed very two-dimensional when relatively young and when popped and poured.
I stopped buying Donnhoff except for an occasional backfill. I’m with Sarah in the sense that given the choice among a top MSR at the same price point - von Schubert or Schaefer or Prum - it’s a no brainer now. And I’m a pradikat guy. Not GG. The best MSR sites just have better, more interesting dirt and structure. Not that I don’t love the Hermannshohle, Felsenberg, and Kirscheck dirt on occasion, but you can’t drink it side by side with a good MSR wine and expect a fair “fight”.
But you know that measured acid tells you little about how a wine tastes. The impression is a function of the mix of acids and the sugar level. And often Donnhoffs taste less tart than the same Pradikats from the Mosel producers most people are drinking. Saying they’re lower in acid is just shorthand for the palate impression.
Interesting post. I have found that my donnhoff spat and kabinett wines need 24-48 hours open to start to shine. I do however see where you’re coming from stylistically.
By the way, have you had the Brucke eiswein? Some of the best sticky wine I’ve ever had. The acidity is electric on those.
No, can’t say I have. But I don’t really like sweet things at all - food or wine - so unlikely it would be to my taste.
I have not personally found much change in my perceptions of Donnhoff with extended (1-3 days) open. We usually get to taste them that way, because we never like them enough to finish them on day 1.
I know (of course I do), but the shorthand is not going to help those who are less expert in the field.
Overall I have found a little too much love in the community for wines that have obvious acids. I don’t think Willi Schaefer (mentioned because the OP listed them) or Prüm falls into that category, but my preference is more towards a balanced wine where things (acid, sweetness…) do not stick out from the whole.
I would hazard guess that it’s more a sweetness thing than an acid thing. With that in mind it is worth noting that Cornelius Dönnhoff has been dialing back the RS in the wines since he took over. That is especially true with the Estate Rieslings and Kabinetts, but even the Spätlese wines are a touch drier these days.
This is where I would think vintage matters. If one thinks that wines from a producer likes Donnhoff needs more perceived acidity, I would think you should try the wines in vintages like 2008 and 2010. Certainly, when I first started tasting Donnhoff, I liked his 1987s and 1990s more than I liked his 1989s for just this reason - I found the 1989s tasted somewhat flabby. In the vintages with a bit lower acidity, drink wines from the Saar and Ruwer. Grunhaus, for example, made wonderful 1989s.
1989 was overwhelmed by ripeness plus botrytis. The wines have slimmed down, but it took 25 years. It’s not a vintage for everyone though, as older wines with botrytis have peculiar character.
And on the “balanced wine” comment I think a number of the points above boil down to the “sweetness” sticks out for some people. I would put it differently - that the balance is different. I don’t think you are claiming to objectively have a superior perception of balance or what a balanced wine is compared to others posting in this thread, but that’s how your comment comes off.
I have enjoyed several (though not all) Falkenstein wines.
I do agree that sweetness is an issue for folks. When I see Sarah’s comments regarding not liking sweet things, her reaction to Spätlese Riesling makes a lot of sense. Alan likes Trimbach, so it’s not an absolute level of acid, but how it is presented.
I drink across the range from bone dry to uber-sweet. Last night it was a young Prüm Auslese with dinner. There’s a dry as dust 2010 (!) Trocken waiting in the wings from a different producer.
But my post wasn’t about my reaction to spatlese, it was about my reaction to Donnhoff. It is true I don’t care for sweet things much as a category, but sometimes that’s what the food calls for and I am able to compare wines and producers within that category and prefer some to others. As I said, I far prefer the wines of Willi Schafer, for instance. Perhaps I didn’t make clear I meant within the same category. So it really isn’t just a matter of sweetness level for me. I find Donhoffs GGs unremarkable as well, and that’s not only a category I love, but certainly not about the sweetness. I am trying to find the right way to articulate my problem with them, and hoped some input might come from this discussion
Right now, I can say that, over hundreds of bottles and dozens of vintages and many vineyards, I find them lacking what I look for in Riesling of almost any sweetness level, and it has something to do with my perception of their balance and structure.
In my brown-bag group, there were several members who had deep cellars of sweet rieslings. 1989 was the one mature vintage I could consistently pick out tasting double blind. They were always seemed flabby to me. (Actually, '76 was usually self-announcing, too, now that I think about it).
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I’m on your side. Try and try again, I find Donnhoff to be just Riesling wine and no profundity. I think it’s a lack of acidity that reduces zing and minerality—things I look for.