2006 Schäfer-Fröhlich Monzinger Halenberg Riesling Großes Gewächs
Really ripe and intense; bright white fruited flavours, peachskin and a firm, expansive mineral character beneath with floral and smoky elements emerging with air. Finishes with a slightly sweet, almost glyceral note, though this suffered with the Szechuan food with the 13% alcohol becoming obtrusive at the first sign of heat.
2001 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett
Fabulous. Still looks incredibly young, pale and primary with a gorgeous scent of pear and minerals and amazingly light on its feet; lots of depth and presence but with barely any sense of weight.
2001 Dönnhoff Schloßböckelheimer Kupfergrube Riesling Spätlese
Elegant, understated and really complex with layers of red fruits, peach, citrus and a wash of minerals and salty notes on the back end. Very polished, almost glossy in the mouth - really delicious.
2001 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese #5
Flat out amazing. Incredibly pure Mosel fruit, slate and vanilla cream elements in a seamless, almost weightless package with serious precision and length. This disappeared within minutes, fortunately there was a second bottle that showed even more primary, paler and more fruit-forward without the vanilla cream notes but with the same sense of balance and elegance. (Originally the plan was for a flight of 01 Schaefer Domprobst from different fuders, but we ended up with two of this - nobody was complaining!
)1976 Freiherr Langwerth von Simmern Hattenheimer Nußbrunnen Riesling Auslese
Bright gold colour with a gorgeous scent of honey, tropical fruits and orange peel accented by developed smoky and vanilla cream notes. More one-dimensional in the mouth though, almost monolithic and rather Sauternes-like with the botrytis dominating completely and giving it a viscous, slightly sticky mouthfeel.
2004 Schlossgut Diel Dorsheimer Pittermännchen Riesling Spätlese
Full of bright yellow plums, peaches and floral notes over a slatey mineral base, very forward and fun to drink with the food, though this doesn't show the same acidity and sense of precision that other bottles have.
2006 Dönnhoff Felsentürmchen Riesling Spätlese
Explodes with peaches, strawberries and other red fruits; very ripe and forward with a cotton candy-like sweetness but good acidity keeping it very well balanced. Delicious.
2001 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese (AP #19-02, white capsule)
Still an infant, but already spectacular. Starts out a little tight at first with bright peach, citrus and yellow plums over an intense slatey minerality - but with some air this really takes off, opening out aromatically and developing beautiful floral and herbal accents on top of the fruit and slate. Fantastic precision and balance with really good acidity that makes it feel incredibly light on its feet - a wow wine, even though it has years ahead.
2002 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese (AP #13-03, white capsule)
Really delicious (particularly with the food) on its own, but this suffers in comparison with the '01 (poured alongside); this is more developed with smoky and petrol notes on top of bright Mosel fruit, but doesn't show the same depth, precision or lightness, feeling slightly softer and finishing a little short.
2001 Dönnhoff Norheimer Dellchen Riesling Auslese
Packed with cherries and other red fruits, citrus and touches of pineapple and honey with very subtle botrytis elements in the background. Really sweet and rich, but there's a sense of real power and firmness here with the acidity giving it an almost chiselled texture.
2005 Schlossgut Diel Dorsheimer Goldloch Riesling Auslese
Full of such incredibly bright, vivid fruit ranging from ripe limes and peaches to more exotic tropical notes with touches of jasmine, minerals and honey underneath. Very sweet and rich, though the sense of purity and clarity to the fruit and the bright acids underneath make it incredibly fresh and easy to drink.
1998 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Auslese
Something's very off here - bright peach, grapefruit and petrol aromatics, but this feels very awkward with a hollow middle and the acids spiky and unbalanced. Cooked? Either way, continues my streak of bad luck with Dönnhoff's 98s.