2023 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshohle Riesling Grosses Gewächs

The 2023 Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling trocken GG opens deep, pure, intense and stony on the nose that is, to be honest, much more sophisticated than the Brücke GG. The wine is finely juicy as well as savory on the palate, probably not bone dry in terms of analysis but always in tension and never settling on the palate, as if it was just an idea of Riesling and not its materialization. This Hermannshöhle is not a cave (which it is only named after) but a bright Riesling ray to the heavens, a lasting flash of lightning from a thunderstorm that cannot be disliked or remain undrunk, even today. If you need a salty and spicy yet always seductively round palate-tickler now, please go ahead. But those who like to let the wine mature will not lose out. 13% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted in August and October 2024.

Smells of sweet water, jasmine tea, white blossom, tender greens and ripe fruit. A Jenga game of delicate acidity, piercing freshness, shimmering fruit, elegant phenolics and stony tension. Remove one piece and the whole tower falls. This is pure, refined elegance. Everything feels made from spun gold. (PS)

Incredibly refined and precise, yet with Grand Canyon-like depths and layers, this incredible dry riesling has a horizon-to-horizon spectrum of stone fruit, citrus and wild berry aromas, plus a touch of dusty hot soil as rain starts to fall on it. On the compact, medium-bodied palate, this side of the wine builds and builds to a giant crescendo in the almost endless finish. Drink or hold.