Weingut Dönnhoff : Riesling Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Grosses Gewächs Trocken 2023

There's a good sense of fullness to this excellent version, with plush pear, melon and fragrant lilac notes cut with vivid acidity for a tangy, taut profile. Its concentration builds, with zesty, bitter mineral details giving an upright structure and drive to the precise, chiseled finish, which lies under a veil of smoke. Best from 2026 through 2040. 50 cases imported.

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.

Hermannshöhle opens with delicacy and subtlety. Like an actor, it first casts a glance around the room and studies the audience. It has a wealth of stories to tell, but it wants to be sure you’re paying attention. So it begins with gentle herbaceous nuances intertwined with flinty notes, before finally revealing wafts of mirabelle plums and white peaches. Broad and saline on the attack, the wine knows how to create a symbiosis between breadth and tension—crucial to any sense of harmony. Everything feels perfectly in place, with a very clear message: I’m showing you what I want, and it’s already excellent, but I have so much more to tell you! One of the greatest 2023s I’ve had the chance to taste, especially in terms of harmony, balance, tact, subtlety, and depth. The terroir guides the winemaker, and he knows how to listen to it; he lets it happen. That, too, is wisdom.