2009 Niederhauser Hermannshohle Auslese Goldkapsel

Amazingly, yet more delicate and gossamer than the corresponding Brucke, Donnhoff's 2009 Niederhauser Hermannshohle Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule broadcasts musky perfume of peony and narcissus, which mingle in wafting profusion with a liqueur-like yet almost weightlessly buoyant concentration of peach, pear, and honeydew melon. Hints of caramel and white raisin point toward botrytis. Yet, in an analogy to the Brucke, cooling mint projects healthy, chlorophyll-rich ripeness. The deep, saline savor harbored by the Hermannshohle Spatlese returns here too, albeit in a more rarified context. This should serve for the better part of three decades' excitement. "In a great vintage with good weather this prolonged," remarks Helmut Donnhoff of 2009, only half in humor, "the only time limit to harvest is that set by the wild boar." And most of the excitement here this year - including the remarkable range of Spatlesen and the botrytis selections - was generated from a single week's picking in early November. "It's a year of the naked wine," adds Donnhoff, pointing to what he perceives as the stark portrayal of vineyard typicity that runs through his entire 2009 collection. His recent arrangement with the new Gut Hermannsberg (whose origins and inaugural vintage are canvassed elsewhere in this report) has taken Schlossbockelheimer Kupfergrube out of Helmut Donnhoff's line-up, while he has roughly doubled the surface area in the Hermannshohle under his control (to nearly 10 acres, or roughly half the Einzellage). The suggested retail prices I received from Donnhoff's importer represented significant price reductions vis-a-vis the last two years - and prices on the estate's private customer list have remained virtually unchanged for several years - adding yet another reason to seek them out. "I want to offer my customers good value," remarks Donnhoff with, in my view, considerable understatement, "and I'm proud of the fact that nobody in the trade who has bought from me has lost money reselling my wine." Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300