My man… any chance you’d mind recommending some sock-knockers in the $30-$50 range? I’ll be getting a wine fridge in the next year or so and want to start tasting so I can prepare for some long-term collecting.
So the Oberhauser Leistenberg Kabinett is a great value mentioned above.
In the Spatlese range, the Norheimer Kirschheck is sadly overlooked, and always delicious. It ages very well. I had the 2002 a few weeks ago, and it was wonderful. It’s also about $40, where the big boys (Brucke and Hermannshohle) tend to be $50 or more.
I too consider Donnhoff as central producer for me along with Joh Jos Prum (Graccher Himmelreich Kabinett is a fave and a good buy), Lauer and AJ Adam.
The German import market is a lot like the Piedmont Italian market, in that recently some of the most famous houses have passed the baton on to the next generation, and it’s not at all clear whether the youngsters intend to honor the family traditions in winemaking or whether they’re heading off in New Wave directions [which might result in wine styles which won’t cellar as well as the traditional styles had cellared].
Personally, I don’t have enough experience to be able to make any predictions as to what’s happening, but when I read about e.g. backing off traditional sulphur treatments [in favor of producing wines which are ostensibly more immediately appealing to generic idiots with too much money to spend], then muh train-wreck-dar starts pinging real loud in the back of muh head.
Name some names.
I buy Donnhoff and Selbach-Oster mostly though do buy a bit of Prum. I don’t hold a lot of Riesling and what I have is quite a bit older. Generally about 3+ cases out of 100 cases.
Stacy, Adam, Felipe
I also think they do. GGs might not be quite as consistent as a couple of other top producers’ to me, but the strong vintages are very impressive, and sweeter bottlings are great every year.
My mainstay purchases are JJ Prum, Willi Schaefer, Zilliken, Von Schubert Maximin Grunhaus, and Martin Mullen. Been dabbling more in Schloss Lieser, Weiser-Kunstler, and Peter Lauer lately.
When you go for the GGs, who do you prefer?
They don’t get mentioned on here a ton, but I’d like to give a shoutout to Markus Molitor White Capsule Rieslings. I think they tend to be great and a bunch of them aren’t too pricey.
I understand the goldkapsel generally means higher quality grapes, is white capsule just the standard then?
Iirc, Markus Molitor uses capsule color to differentiate between sweet, half dry, and dry.
You expect Nathan to provide actual, useful info?
You new here? 
As far as my preference, only Keller and Wittmann. Sadly, Keller’s wines are no longer accessible at regular pricing. That said, I do think Burklin-Wolf and Schafer-Frohlich are making great wines more consistently across vintages, but for my taste, I’d rather buy Donnhoff Hermannshohle GG every year than pay for Burklin-Wolf or even drink Schafer-Frohlich. But really, that’s just me. B-W’s top wines are very expensive, though, and not easy to find in the US. Some other people here with very valid opinions feel totally differently and think Schafer-Frohlich is in the very top tier for dry wines. That’s totally valid in my mind. Those wines are just a bit big-boned for me. In any case, Wittmann’s GGs are great every year. In the great vintages, I think Donnhoff’s GGs are right there too, and there are surprises like '09 where Donnhoff totally over-performed.
Since the thread is about Donnhoff, though, I think buying Kirschheck Spatlese, Brucke Auslese, and Hermannshohle GG is a really, really, good idea in any vintage, as far as the relatively high end goes (not considering the ultra expensive dessert wines).
I think the A.J. Adam Hofberg Kabinett is a great value. I have bought magnums for under $40. I also enjoy Knebel, although for a long time it was very hard to get in the US because of importer issues. The Knebel GGs are excellent.
Markus Molitor has an odd labeling system, which is why I don’t recommend it to people who are new to wine/Riesling. For Markus Molitor: Gold cap = fully sweet, green cap = off dry; white cap = dry. So, whether it’s a kabinett white cap or an auslese*** white cap, they will both be dry (however, obviously, the Auslese will be a much bigger wine). Instead of using gold capsules or long gold capsules like most other producers, they use 1 to 3 stars ("") to signify higher quality/concentration (** being the highest quality). Their labelling might be weird, but they make great wine.
At low $20s the Hofberg is a super buy.
I also will chip in with Donnhoff. I think just about anything they make from the Hermannshohle vineyard is gonna be safe to suggest just about every year. I own a little bit of the GG and a little bit of sweet stuff and its consistently very fun to drink.
is this the same vineyard as Schafer-Frohlicks Halenberg GG? would be a fun side by side.
Matt - same site.