As I have, I think, mentioned before, a few years ago I sold about 150 assorted bottles of whites with varying degrees of RS. Although I loved these wines, our low rate of drinking them represented about 30 years of consumption. The few I held back have been consumed at an even slower rate but here is one. (I had a struggle with a crumbling cork and had to pour the wine through a fine filter to hold back the cork dust!)
2002 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Nahe (03/05/2025)
I used to be a big fan of German prädikat wines from good producers, especially Kabinett and Spätlese. However, a combination of negative remarks from across the table about sweetness and a difficulty in finding suitable pairings for those palates caused me to auction off most of my bottles alongside most of my sweeties from other regions. This bottle was among a large handful of survivors. I was expecting great things here and was a tad disappointed. There were no signs of decay in this bottle. Colour was not unnaturally dark nor were there any oxidized or otherwise deviant aromas. The nose was initially quite shy but attractive aromas of white fruit, touches of citrus and spice along with hydrocarbon hints soon appeared. On the medium - palate the same aromas and fruit followed through with touches of mineral and cream and there was an agreeable underlying roundness. However the remaining acidity was not sufficient to balance a marked sweetness when paired with a main course of scallops. However with starters of samosa fritters, the spices in the dish brought out additional complexity in the wine, including freshening notes of ginger. It is probably that, if I had opened the bottle a few years ago, the acid balance would have been better. Nevertheless very good, although I was hoping for even more.
Posted from CellarTracker