Dönnhoff
Dönnhoff
This Article Contains |
People |
Cornelius Dönnhoff, the man in charge, along with father Helmut Dönnhoff, who elevated the winery to greatness, Anna, Cornelius’s wife who does everything else. Plus a large team of family and friends from around the world.
Focus |
Rieslings and Burgundy varietals that reflect the intensity and ageability of the varied terroir from their envious collection of Grosse Lage vineyards in the heart of the Nahe.
Country |
Germany
Region |
Nahe
Village |
Oberhäusen
Climate |
Cool Continental
- Defined as very cold winters, hot, short, fairly rainy summers, with long, cool, dry autumns.
- Until climate change this was the very northern edge of where grapes could ripen fully, but only about 7 out of 10 years.
- Now: winters are usually not as cold, summers are much hotter, drought is a serious problem 4 or the last 5 years, and autumns start later and are often much wetter than they used to be.
- The unpredictability of the weather is what makes wines especially vintage sensitive and creates havoc (and high costs!) for winemakers.
- Nahe is a little warmer on average than the Mosel and cooler than most of the other wine regions in Germany. There are some very warm vineyard sites, giving an almost mediterranean feel, but also with a few cooler, almost Saar-like areas as well.
- Cool climate wines are high in acid, low in alcohol, light in body, and often show a lot of mineral flavors rather than fruit.
- Usually white wines are made, but some light reds, like Pinot Noir can also ripen well.
- Warmer vintages: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2015 produce wines with lower acidity, higher alcohols, and richer fruit flavors.
- Cooler vintages: 2021, 2013, 2010, 2008 produce what are now considered “classic” cool-climate wines
- 2022 is an enigma. It was hot and very dry for most of the growing season, but rain and long cold fall ended up giving us wines that taste more like “classic” cool-climate wines than rich, ripe wines.
Vineyards |
28 hectares from 9 Grosse Lage (Grand Cru vineyards), across 6 villages.
- Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle: The top rated Grand Cru site in the Nahe for over 100 years. Blackish grey slate mixed with extrusive igneous rock, porphyry and limestone. Due south facing, 40 – 60 % slope with vines up to 65 years old. Even on this hot site, its regal vibes just equal wines that layer up with incredible intensity, they are still balanced, and ageworthy. Put these in the cellar for at least 10 years. An absolute treasure of a hillside.
- Niederhäuser Klamm: Grand Cru site, volcanic porphyry and decomposed black slate. A very stony almost-extension of the Hermannshöhle and one of the steepest in the Nahe, up to 70%. The Kabinett from here is like laser beams and rocks.
- Oberhäuser Brücke: A tiny, 1.1 ha monopole Grand Cru site, slate, porphyry, sandstone, loam. A low lying vineyard along a river. It's a warm humid site, meaning early flowering and late ripening, often with botrytis and a good spot for eiswein in capable years. With the loam soils and river adjacent it can do great even in the driest years. The wines tend to be wild and exotic, with a firework display of complex flavors.
- Oberhäuser Leistenberg: Grand Cru site, with lots of decomposed slate. A steep 30 – 60 % sloped site with terraces. It’s south east exposure means good morning sunshine, but a less direct exposure in the afternoon, for lighter, brighter, more lifted wines.
- Schlossböckelheimer Felsenberg: Grand Cru site, porphyry soils. From the coldest site in the Nahe with slopes at a 50 – 60 % gradient. Wines have much more cut, are leaner and sharper. The volcanic soil gives them a very flinty minerality.
- Norheimer Kirschheck: Grand Cru site, slate, sandstone, due south facing with a 25 – 45% gradient. A great home for Spätlese as the wines reach adequate ripeness nearly every year and the sandstone gives an intense Nahe-peach note.
- Norheimer Dellchen: Grand Cru site, slate, porphyry. Very steep, 50 – 70 % gradient slope with terraces. Although it faces due south, it is in a dell, or a little dip in the hill and finds itself in the shade both early and late in the day, greatly extending its ripening period. A personal favorite of mine, where the volcanic soils and very long hangtime give a special edge and layer of minerality. Concentrated and taut at the same time.
- Kreuznacher Krötenpfuhl: Grand Cru site, löss, loam, gravelly quartzite. A gently sloping, south facing, vineyard in the north of the Nahe, where it is actually warmer than to the south. Vines have more access to water thanks to the loam subsoils. A place for slightly richer Kabinetts with tons of yummy, yummy Nahe peach flavors.
- Kreuznacher Kahlenberg: top rated Grand Cru in the Bad Kreuznach, gravelly loam. South facing warm site.
- Roxheimer Höllenpfad: Grand Cru site, red sandstone
Grape Varieties |
80% Riesling
- The King of White Grapes.
- High acid, semi aromatic
- A huge variation in style potential from very light and dry, sparkling to the most unctuously sweet wines on the planet.
- Divisive for its high acidity and sugar retaining capabilities
- Perfect in its dynamic nature, ability to transmit the slightest nuance of terroir and being capable of aging for hundreds of years.
- 20% Pinot Blanc / Weissburgunder
- A white skinned mutation of Pinot Noir
- The secret weapon of the Teutonics. They make the best versions of this grape, and they don’t share them.
- Germany is now the world’s leading producer of Pinot Blanc
- pale to straw yellow in color, and delicate on the nose. A slightly nutlike aroma is typical. Vinified dry, its medium to full body and fine acidity complement many types of food.
- Good examples age very well, although generally made with the aim of everyday fresh and dry wines in mind. Even these seemingly innocuous wines have the ability to age over decades..
- 20% Pinot Gris / Grau Burgunder
- A pink-skinned genetic mutation of Pinot Noir.
- Likely introduced from across the border in nearby Alsace by Cistercian monks.
- Takes on many styles in Germany.
- The country is the world’s third-largest producer of the grape.
- Typically dry and can range from light and fresh to rich and oak-aged.
- Most of the time, these wines are more concentrated and flavorful than Pinot Grigio of Italy, with notes of apple, pear, and nuts.
- Because of its pink skins, Pinot Gris also makes delicious orange wines.
Plus a small amount of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Farming |
Sustainable
- Dry farmed, but hand watered in severe drought years like 2022
- No herbicides
- No pesticides
Cellar Work |
Modern & Traditional
- Spontaneous fermentations
- Fermentation and maturation in classic wooden barrels of German oak and stainless steel vats
- Cellar is large enough to hold an entire harvest in either stainless steel or barrel depending on what the vintage requires.
About the winery |
If you love Riesling, you know the name Dönnhoff. If you don't love Riesling—yet—Dönnhoff will teach you why the grape inspires such passion. They are one of the greatest estates in the Nahe which also makes them one of the best in all of Germany.
The family has had four generations to dive deep into their terroir and perfect their winemaking. Their top wines are long-lived and collectible. That terroir is, of course, key. The Nahe has the most varied soils (including, especially, different kinds of volcanic soil) of any German region, as well as a climate that ranges from very cold high-elevation sites to pockets of Mediterranean warmth. This gives Dönnhoff a painter’s palette of flavors and textures from which to craft a perfect wine.
What do the wines taste like?
Intensely flavored, well structured, built to last for decades in the cellar. Even the screw caps are intended for 10+ years. The fruit is always flourishing, without being overwrought, what I consider the quintessential Nahe, sun-kissed, just ripe yellow peach flavor. But each bottling has a minerality reflective of its place, whether volcanic soils in a shaded spot, or loam on a south facing gentle slope.