Time for another installment of Germany 2021 vintage impressions. It’s indeed my type of vintage. I’m not going to make the same mistake this time, like I did when the 2004 and 2008 vintages were released. They are both drinking outrageously well today but 2021 is a better vintage from start. In my opinion, of course. And so different from the previous three vintages. Me like. Me like very, very much.
To continue my journey into Germany’s 2021 vintage, I checked with Weingut Dönnhoff if there would be any chance to stop to and taste some of the new vintages. Difficult. Very busy. So I was getting ready to make another attempt later this spring but instead they surprised me by saying that Der Alte would be waiting for me. The Old One. Dönnhoff. Helmut Dönnhoff. I cannot, CAN NOT, really in no way, with simple words tell you what Helmut Dönnhoff means to me and how much kindness and generosity he has graced me with over the past almost 20 years. And how much I have learned about wine from him. And above all, how much I have learned about humility. Helmut is Ein Mensch in every aspect of the meaning of this special expression in the German language.
I’ll come back to all that in a completely different setting, so for now, let’s just get a quick snapshot of the wines. Knowing he would probably be busy, I prepared myself to do a super quick tasting, thinking that even a half an hour speed tasting would be better than nothing, to at least get a glimpse of the new vintage. In fact, I was even prepared to just taste all by myself whatever they would happen to have open in the fridge and then quicly leave. Apparently I still have much to learn… As it turned out, Helmut had spent hours in the cellar, collecting samples just for my arrival and when we sat down it was the same old usual. We talked. And tasted. And talked. Ahh, all these stories…! All these memories. This knowledge from the older generation. It must be preserved for the coming generations! It is. And it will be. The hours went by, it got dark, but we continued tasting. This is such an incredible honour and so breathtakingly educational. I can’t help thinking about all those sommelier courses and complete wine educations conducted around the world - if they only could spend hald an hour with a person like Helmut, they would learn things no book will ever be able to teach them. It’s such an incredible privilege. I digress… The wines? Total purity. Purezza in Italian. Completely transparent, like a polished store window you bump into because you didn’t realise there’s actually a wall of glass in front of you. Fresh, vivid but ripe acidity throughout with the Tonschiefer Riesling trocken being…well, have I tasted any better before? I can’t remember. As usual, I couldn’t help falling in love with the Kahlenberg Riesling trocken. My mother’s favourite. There are only two letters missing. GG. I have told this to Hemut for some time now. He agrees but also said that’s on Cornelius plate now, to make something of it. The wine is ready to make the transition, in my opinion but at the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter what’s on the label. Simply lovely. Höllenpfad Riesling trocken…much more “Dönnhoff” style nowadays, compared to the rounder and more spicy initial interpretation when it started its production history. But again…just the Riesling trocken. That’s the quality stamp, of both this vintage and this estate.
Oh yes. Oh dear. Oh my. I need to secure some bottles before I talk too much about these two beauties… The Felsenberg Riesling GG, which is actually “Felsentürmchen”, grapes picked below the little round “castle” in Felsenberg is simply superb. And the Hermannshöhle Riesling GG, well… I can’t really describe the wine but Helmut did it for me. Will post it on my instagram to give you a better idea about what Hermannshöhle is really all about. Magic in a bottle. (But WAIT until you see Helmut’s description. Goosebumps…)
Well, don’t say I didn’t tell you. I DID! I TOLD YOU! It’s a Kabi Power Year. Sublime. So elegant, so crystalline, so vividly crispy, oscillating with weighless energy. I could have dressed naked, grab the bottles and run away along the streets of Oberhausen towards the horison, never to be found again. The famous last confirmed sighting of yours truly… Out of pure joy, mind you. There IS something about the 2021 vintage with it’s cool demeanour, ripe acidity and crystalline minerality - when…it’s combined with residual sugar. Something happens. 1 + 1 becomes 3. The sum is more than the indicidual parts. “Rimfost” is a Swedish word. You need to look it up to understand what I mean. The Oberhäuser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett is like money in the bank. Always my favourite. Like layers of ice on a cold window in winter, while the sun is rising. Oh, me like! The Kreuznacher Krötenpfuhl Riesling Kabinett with it’s flirtiness and polished pebbles in a mountain creek - impossible not to like. And then the aristocratic Niederhäuser Klamm Riesling Kabinett that seems to be growing on me vintage after vintage and in this year’s rendention…well, wow. This summer will indeed be a Summer of Kabinett. I will drink Kabi Power like there’s no tomorrow!
I have said it before and for those to care to listen, I’m saying it again. Riesling Grosses Gewächs and all that. So many people seem to be chasing them but to me, the pinnacle of quality at Dönnhoff has always been, in my humble opinion, the Spätlese Prädikat. How Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spätlese can taste of red fruit I will never understand, but it does. The Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Spätlese, no longer the warmer, slightly “oily” character, has been beautifully transformed by Cornelius into a more stony, peachy, mineral-infused delight by the river. Only problem is that this wine seems to become more and more difficult to get hold on so I’ll start my persistant nagging early this year to secure a few bottles for “medicinal purposes”… And then the Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese, the King of Dönnhoff’s Spätlese (well, as long as Cornelius refuses to bring back Norheimer Dellchen as a Spätlese). The Hermannshöhle is a true icon, and rightfully so. At this early stage it simply didn’t leave any traces on my palate but just disappeared caressingly whispering with a sensual voice down my throat. Come to Papa! And again…the 2021 high but ripe acidity together with the residual sugar. Something happens… Robert Dentice, if I make it to NYC this year and we arrange a joint Riesling Happening, this bottle needs to come with me.
I suppose you want me to share my tasting notes of thse wines? All I can say that while tasting the other wines, I and Helmut were chatting away. With these in the glass, we sipped in silence. I’ll leave it at that. Any attempts to use simple words would be so… Insufficient.
There’s more to come. Much more. Stay tuned…
Thanks for listening.