2018 Dönnhoff Dellchen Riesling Grosses Gewächs

Dönnhoff

Germany / Nahe / Dönnhoff

A historic steeply sloping vineyard which Dönnhoff awoke from its slumber. Steep terraces in a hollow with slate and porphyry soils. The vines are about 20 years old and yield about 35hl/ha. 100% selective hand harvest. The must is fermented and the wine matured in classic wooden barrels and stainless steel vats. Vigorously spicy and at the same time dancingly elegant with great depth and a fascinating charisma.

November, 2019

Nick Stock

JamesSuckling.com

99 points

A dense and layered white with minerals, salt, white pepper, chalk, dried lemon and subtle pears. Pumice. Wow. Tiny film of oil. Creamy and insane. What a wine. Magic. One for the cellar. Drink or hold.

August, 2019

Michael Schmidt

JancisRobinson.com

19/20

As pure as the driven snow is just an old cliché, but one might be tempted to leave the description there in view of the inadequacy of words to describe the sophistication of the Dellchen. The fruit is filigree, the minerality cool and invigorating, the acidity exhilarating. Proof that opulence and power are not the be all and end all of great Riesling.

June, 2020

David Schildknecht

Vinous Media

95 points

Scents of white peach and pear strongly marked by pit and seed arouse expectations of both juiciness and piquancy that are amply fulfilled on a full, glossy palate. A whiff of gentian anticipates bittersweet inner-mouth florality. There is a bit more gloss here and a bit less firmness than displayed by the other dry Dönnhoff 2018s, but also an inexplicable sense of lift despite close to 13% alcohol. The overall impression is impressively rich, but the superbly sustained finish delivers a pleasant sharpness of raw ginger, mouthwatering and lip-licking salinity and a riveting array of stony, alkaline and ineffable mineral notes. “In 1965,” noted Dönnhoff, referring to one of the most notoriously awful vintages for Riesling Germany in anyone’s memory, “Dellchen was the sole site from which it proved possible to render a Naturwein – to achieve completeness without having to do anything to the must – and that really impressed me. But at the same time, this site has an amazing ability to withstand even extreme drought, because there is a critical source of water beneath it. And if that weren’t the case, these sun-exposed terraces” – which also catch reflected light from unprecedented nearness to the Nahe’s surface – “would easily overheat.”

October, 2019

Stephan Reinhardt

Wine Advocate

92 points

The 2018 Norheimer Dellchen Riesling trocken –GG– is brilliant, pure and fresh on the nose, with super ripe and dried white-fruit aromas on the nose. Round, lush and elegant on the palate, this is a rich yet elegant, pure and crystalline Riesling that tastes somewhat sweetish on the finish right now. Tasted three days after bottling in July 2019.

Standard Bottle Out of Stock

About Dönnhoff

Helmut Dönnhoff and son Cornelius make the best wines in the Nahe region and some of the finest anywhere in the world. We can't possibly overstate how much we cherish and revere these wines. They are sheer perfection in their elegantly defined structure and flawless harmony. The epitome of their meticulous winemaking is the Eiswein. Dönnhoff wines have such power and complexity that their signature weightlessness seems nigh on miraculous. One taste and you sense the magic. These wines are on a par with the best of Germany in a very unique way: the sweet wines rival those of Prüm, Loosen and Egon Müller and the dry wines are mentioned in the same breath as luminaries such as Wittmann and Weil. Very few - if any - have this degree of versatility...

About

Cornelius Dönnhoff bears with him the promise and burden of great expectations. Dönnhoff’'s world-renowned Rieslings were first carried into the international limelight by his father, but now it is the son assuming an increasing share of the responsibility for the estate in the small town of Oberhausen on the Nahe (population 400). “No one knows the Nahe, but everyone knows Dönnhoff,” they say in the USA. And with the recent conclusion of his seventh vintage, this young, university-trained viticulturalist has every reason to smile. He won three consecutive Feinschmecker Cups for his dry Riesling collection, and in 2012 the simultaneous distinction of both “Estate of the Year” and “Best White Wine Collection” from the renowned Eichelmann wine guide. In 2014 Stuart Pigott named him Winemaker of the Year in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Cornelius acquired his initial winemaking experience at his parents' estate, followed by an apprenticeship at the Dr. Heger wine estate in Ihringen. University studies in viticultural techniques in Bad Kreuznach came next, followed by time abroad in New Zealand and Australia. In 2007 he assumed the role of cellarmaster at Dönnhoff and currently runs the estate together with his father.