2018 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel Nahe
SKU #1467706
98 points
John Gilman
The purity and precision of the 2018 Hermannshöhle Auslese is the stuff that legends used to be made from. The bouquet is complex and utterly refined, offering up scents of pear, white cherries, bee pollen, a touch of orange zest, lovely salinity and a mineral bath of slate. On the palate the wine is fullish, racy and utterly seamless in its balance, with great intensity of flavor, laser-like focus and truly stunning mineral drive on the backend (particularly for Auslese), with an endless and magical finish.
(4/2019)
95 points
Vinous
Like its Brücke counterpart, this Auslese reflects genuinely botrytis-free grapes, said Dönnhoff, but ones that were too numerous and too high in sugar to use elsewhere, “and certainly not in the Grosses Gewächs, which would then have ended up with 14% alcohol.” Sea breeze on the nose intimates the sweet-saline savor of raw scallop that emerges on this wine’s lusciously lingering, mouthwateringly umami-rich finish. White peach and quince preserves feature throughout, reinforced on the soothingly creamy palate by nougat-like nut essences. There is an animating, juicy fresh-fruit aspect as well, and a wonderful sense of both focus and transparency to stony and ore-like nuances. (DS)
(6/2020)