Browse Tag

nahe

Brücken promise

Dönnhoff 1999 Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Spätlese 007 00 (Nahe) – Thick mineral stew with a peach glaze, over-reduced and tedious. Utterly devoid of useful acidity (meaning there’s not none, just not any that will rescue the wine). (6/12)

Busch league

Anheuser 2008 Kreuznacher Scheurebe 024 99 (Nahe) – Fruit salad and sugar, makrut lime, fading to more abrupt leafiness in the finish. Surprisingly primary, though its my recollection that this possessed more duration when it was young. (2/12)

Allin

Dönnhoff 2008 Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Trocken “GG” 25 09 (Nahe)– Petroleum to start. Rinds, rocks, and rectangular reds in both form and aroma. Turns ever more rusty as it finishes (and this takes a while). Striking. (5/10)

Down in a höhle

Dönnhoff 2001 Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese 008 02 (Nahe) – A misty memory of dust. Peachy-creamy and supple. Is it “better” than it was in its youth? I don’t know if I accept the utility of that word here. I liked it young. I like it differently now. (5/10)

Brücke shields

Dönnhoff 2000 Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Eiswein 021 01 (Nahe) – From 375 ml…but that’s really all you’ll ever need. Exposed iron strata with crystallized strawberry, awesome acidity yet exquisite balance, and infinitely long. Breathtaking. (12/09)

Finkenauer, or two if you need them

Finkenauer 2005 Kreuznacher Osterhölt Riesling Spätlese Semi-Dry 18 06 (Nahe) – Straining and stretching, seemingly forcing itself into a misty, photo-negative role it’s not quite built for. Its minerality is worn on the exterior, the apple skin and gale-force winds that comprise the wine’s “fruit” are in the interior. This is a reversal of riesling’s usual form, and while it’s interesting, I’m not sure it’s to the wine’s benefit. Emphasis, in that last sentence, on the “not sure”; I’m more than a little uncertain about how to assess this wine? Good? Trying to hard? I dunno. (10/09)

Catch hheck

Dönnhoff 2001 Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spätlese 006 02 (Nahe) – Fairly creamy (already, which is pretty common for Dönnhoff), ranging from slightly underripe stone fruit to a salt-sugar mix that slightly muddles the structure, though I can’t say that the wine really suffers much as a result. Not an intellectual wine, but not really an emotional one either; mostly, it’s about overt and superior pleasantness. (7/09)

Brücke Shields

Dönnhoff 2007 Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Spätlese 07 08 (Nahe) – Soft and creamy, with tangerine. Pulsating. The full, rich texture isn’t really offset by anything else, to the point where it becomes worrisomely plush. (4/09)

Haus of walls

Schloss Wallhausen 2005 Riesling Spätlese 14 06 (Nahe) – Perfectly correct German riesling…acid, sugar, and lemon-apple fruit all intact…with nothing that adds to, or detracts from, the basic fact of it. (4/09)

One bourbon, one Scotch, & one beerenauslese

[barrels]Anheuser 1999 Kreuznacher Krötenpfuhl Riesling Beerenauslese 049 00 (Nahe) – Extremely sweet, of course, apple, grapefruit, spice, raspberry. A touch of alcohol, believe it or not. This has been opened specifically for me, because apparently I liked it too much in the past. Well, I still like it, though not as much as before. It’s not particularly complex, for sure. But it’s sweet riesling with red fruit notes. Where’s the bad? (3/09)