High-toned, bitter-sweetly suggestive herbal and floral essences as well as intimations of musk and crushed stone rise from the glass of Donnhoff 2011 Niederhauser Hermannshohle Riesling Grosses Gewachs, with projects...
High-toned, bitter-sweetly suggestive herbal and floral essences as well as intimations of musk and crushed stone rise from the glass of Donnhoff 2011 Niederhauser Hermannshohle Riesling Grosses Gewachs, with projects both mid-palate stuffing and inviting primary juiciness, its herbal extracts and inner-mouth floral perfume wafting through a sparely-textured, palpably extract-rich matrix of white peach and lime. Positively green and nutty sprout-like, as well as maritime impingements serve for invigoration in a sustained, saliva-inducing, energy-evoking, rivetingly interactive finish. This model of what Donnhoff dubs his “puristic” ideal for dry Riesling will give you something to wonder at over for at least 12-15 years. (A consensus seems to have developed in certain German quarters that Donnhoff’s dry wines have in recent years been rendered softer and more approachable, while losing an allegedly once uncompromising dryness and acidity. Wherever did good tasters get this idea?!) - David Schildknecht