2012 Dönnhoff:
"Felsentürmchen" Spätlese & GG
Hermannshöhle Spätlese & GG
Brücke Spätlese
Few estates in Germany have enjoyed a reign at the top like Dönnhoff.
We're weeks or even days away from starting our 2013 German campaign. Today, though, we're revisiting Dönnhoff's top wines of 2012.
Dönnhoff's 2012 vintage really merits revisiting. These are some of the strongest wines that we've tasted from them in recent memory. There's good ripeness, brisk acids and pristine grapes. The wines boast good concentration, nervy backbones and a really beautiful clarity. The longer the '12s develop in bottle and the more we taste them the more we're convinced that 2012 is a special vintage.
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| Hermannshöhle Vineyard |
There's a magic to the way Dönnhoff delivers such polish, such style, such gorgeous proportions. All of this with a sense of weightless elegance. Dönnhoff has supplied plenty of legendary bottles here at Crush. There was a bottle of '04 Hermannshöhle GG opened at the end of a staff tasting a few years ago that blew everyone away. The same goes for an '01 Spätlese Hermannshöhle Trocken that kicked off a Chinese BYOB dinner followed later by a bottle of '98 Kupfergrube Spätlese. And last month, at an industry tasting, there was a lovely bottle of '88 Listenberg Spätlese.
Please see below for the full list of the wines which cover both Grosses Gewächs and Spätlesen from Dönnhoff's top sites. Whether dry or fruity, Dönnhoff's 2012s deliver a sleek precision and polished minerality with an elegance and length that can be heartbreaking.
I'll conclude with a crash course of the vineyards, "Felsentürmchen" is a choice sub-parcel of Schlossbockelheimer Felsenberg which delivers a really impressive combination of smoky minerality, citrus and floral top notes. Brücke is a 2ha monopole that's decidedly mineral and powerful. At it's best, Brücke combines full-throttle intensity with a light as air sensation. Finally, there's the Hermannshöhle. Here's where so much comes together into a seamless whole. There's length, elegance and complexity all delivered with effortless grace. One of the great marriages between producer and site.
If you haven't picked up any 2012 Dönnhoffs, they are very much worth a look. If you have, you may want to go deeper. The wines are that impressive, that clear in 2012 - each vineyard is delivered with pitch-perfect precision.
To order, reply to offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits