Pretty much this. Of the wines I’ve had, most 2007s have been in a great phase right now and some 2011s have been even surprisingly evolved for their age.
I agree on '07, and the few '09s I’ve had seem to be doing very well at this point too. Your comment on 2011 interested me as I’ve found the same thing with several (not all) high quality Austrian Rieslings from that vintage that I’ve been opening recently, as well as some from Germany. I wonder if it’s a really short-lived vintage for certain wines, and if so, why that would be. I’m not saying I ever thought it was a great vintage anywhere in either country, but some wines are able to age for quite a long time from almost every vintage.
I decided to check in on a 2011 Donnhoff Hermannshohle since this had come up. I just opened it. The wine is still extremely youthful, not quite into what I think of as the early open stage that these wines hit where they’re very expressive but not yet showing much maturity. I’m kind of surprised because some '12s (a vintage that I assume will generally be longer lived than '11) seem so open at this point. Maybe I’m just overestimating the wine’s potential and it is what it is (which would be sub-par for this wine), but I am pretty sure it’s still holding quite a bit back.
Generalizations are tough. Individual wines will always go their own way.
No wonder, this is Dönnhoff. For instance I was deeply impressed and surprised by 2009 Dönnhoff “Hermannshöhle” GG, such elegant and full of finesse. Normally I am not such a big fan of 2009, mostly too big the fruit for my palate.