Browse Tag

nahe

To heck with the cherry

Dönnhoff 2003 Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spätlese 005 04 (Nahe) – Tangerine fatness at first sniff, which firms up to a long, columnar midpalate with only a little clinging fat. The finish is short. Everything in this wine happens way up front, and while it’s not bad for an ’03, it’s a little like a tin recreation of a riesling rather than the real thing. Eh. (12/08)

Kruger National Park

Kruger-Rumpf 2004 Scheurebe Kabinett 24 05 (Nahe) – Green grapes and some perfumed tropicality, with just enough acidity to keep it from being syrup, and a few vague gestures in the direction of rocky minerality. Drinkable, for sure, but just as surely forgettable. (12/08)

Krötenpfuhl moon

Dönnhoff 2006 Kreuznacher Krötenpfuhl Riesling Spätlese 09 07 (Nahe) – Petrol and wet soil, naked and yet refreshed by balanced sweetness. Still, this lacks the precision and definition I’d like; it’s a good wine, but not a very good wine. (6/08)

Brücken record

Dönnhoff 2005 Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Spätlese 99 06 (Nahe) – From magnum. I regularly adore this wine, and 2005 is not only no exception, it’s a standout. The nervosity is simply brilliant, with a finely-honed poise between structure and ripe white-yellow fruit as the foundation for a succulent, enticing sweetness. Very, very primary, but with wonders to spare. (8/07)

Cherry liqueur

Dönnhoff 2004 Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spätlese 13 05 (Nahe) – Hugely aromatic and bright. Dried apple skins, dried white flower petals. Very precise, with great acidity. Clear and clean. The finish is lengthy and well-supported. This is why one drinks German riesling. (4/08)

My zinger

[vineyard]Emrich-Schönleber 1999 Monzinger Halenberg Riesling Auslese 24 00 (Nahe) – Sweet and trying to be crisp, but somehow muted and gauzy. Closed? I’m not quite sure what’s going on here. (4/08)

TN: Oberhäus, in the middle of our street

Dönnhoff 2001 Oberhäuser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett 004 02 (Nahe) – Ripe apple with some steel. Simple and tart on the finish. This seems to be eroding rather than aging, as predicted by many…as if a protective layer of pleasure were being sand-etched from an archeaological structure. (6/07)

TN: I put a Hex on you

[vineyard]Hexamer 2005 Schlossböckelheimer In Den Felsen Riesling Spätlese 008 06 (Nahe) – Vivid and somewhat aggressive, with a rounded hammer of ripe apple sheathed in velvet. There’s structure here, but this wine is dominated by its fruit, and it’s a bit on the obvious side. In any case, aging won’t hurt. (5/07)

TN: Double Diel-ing

[burgberg vineyard]Diel 1998 Dorsheimer Burgberg Riesling Kabinett (Nahe) – Apple core and molten aluminum, well-salted aged riesling creaminess, and a woven texture. This is in a beautiful place right now, and I see little reason to hold it. (5/07)

Diel 1997 Dorsheimer Burgberg Riesling Kabinett (Nahe) – Creamier and heavier than the ’98, showing more obvious, round stone fruit popsicle, a polished mouthfeel, and a moderate amount of finishing oil. It could go longer, but the acid is a little deficient…though not unpleasantly so.(5/07)

TN: The Liest of our worries

Dönnhoff 2005 Oberhäuser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett (Nahe) – Fresh, vivid peach and citrus with a squeezed stone liquidity, fairly intense sweetness, and an acidic structure that’s struggling a bit beneath the competing elements. This looks to have a good life ahead of it, but it’s predictably straightforward now. (5/07)