2011 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett

Dönnhoff

Germany / Nahe / Dönnhoff

Steep, southeast-facing slope with grey clay slate soil. The morning sun dries the grapes, keeping them healthy; while the afternoon sun is not so direct, allowing the grapes to ripen for a very long time without becoming overripe. A perfect vineyard for Kabinett wines! The vines are 25 to 30 years old and yield about 50hl/ha. 100% selective hand harvest. Fermented and matured in stainless steel vats and large oak barrels. This is a Riesling with well-defined, spicy fruit, very elegant with a wonderful balance between fine fruit sweetness and firm acidity.

February, 2013

David Schildknecht

Wine Advocate

92 points

Prominent wet-stone “slate” character and piquant toasted walnut lend counterpoint to lusciously juicy apple and quince in a Donnhoff 2011 Oberhauser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett that epitomizes the distinctive virtues of its genre: levity, transparency to nuance, and refreshment – and this despite a relatively low-acid and unusually ripe vintage in which the wine pushes 10% alcohol. A sense of extract and stuffing is evident but somehow doesn’t in the least weigh-down this long-finishing Riesling with its delectably dynamic finishing interaction of stone, spice, nuts and fruit. This, Helmut Donnhoff opines, is an example of “a site displaying its special talent.” Look for at least 12-15 years of exemplary performance.

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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.