2008 Weiser-Künstler Enkircher Ellergrub Riesling Kabinett
Starts out with some interesting sponti-yeast funk on the nose that leads into a palate full of ripe grapefruit and pear. It's very fruit-forward up front, but turns more chalky and herbal on the back end and finishes long with very restrained sweetness. Very nice.
2006 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese
Very exotic and opulent for Hermannshöhle Spätlese (but it is an '06 after all); beautiful floral and spicy aromatics and a palate packed with a spectrum of fruit ranging from limes and apples to much riper tropical pineapple and melon notes. The minerality isn't as pronounced as its been in other vintages - this is much more about its primary fruit and spice, but it's really delicious right now with nicely balanced richness and sweetness and impressive length.
1989 Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt Scharzhofberger Riesling Spätlese
Drinking very nicely right now with maturing smoky and petrol accents around ripe lime, pear and white fruited flavours. There's a cool herbal element that emerges underneath with some air, nice balancing acidity but it feels a little light and short on the back end.
2001 Van Volxem Scharzhofberger Riesling Spätlese
Comes across more mature than the '89 Kesselstatt with pale Riesling fruit framed by developed smoky, creamy and savoury earthy flavour elements. It's nicely balanced with bright acids and very little finishing sweetness.
Onto the main event.
2001 Dönnhoff Schloßböckelheimer Kupfergrube Riesling Spätlese
Rather disappointing compared to other experiences I've had with this wine - it's very rich, red fruited and slightly creamy with some saline mineral notes beneath, but the sweetness is very pronounced here and it feels a little clumsy, not showing the precision, focus or acid balance that I recollect from other bottles.
2001 Dönnhoff Schloßböckelheimer Felsenberg Riesling Spätlese Auction (Goldkapsel, AP #11-02, from the Türmchen subparcel.)
This is freaking amazing. Really beautiful, perfumed aromatics combining all sorts of spring flowers, exotic spices and ripe yellow fruited flavours into a fragrance that's hard to move away from. There's a sense of restrained power in the mouth; tremendous complexity and richness with layers of fruit, florality and stone merging seamlessly and a texture that feels incredibly glossy and polished. The balance is impeccable, and the flavours just stay with you. Wow! Thanks Gene.
2001 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese
In a stunning place right now, combining fresh, still youthful Riesling fruit, vivid stony minerality and the beginnings of developing smoky and creamy elements into a seamless whole. The balance is amazing - this feels almost weightless in the mouth with tremendous acidity that keeps it very focused and cuts through the sweetness to the point that this tastes just off-dry.
2001 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Spätlese
The flavour profile here is remarkably red-fruited compared to the other '01 Dönnhoff Spätlese - full of raspberries, cherries and nectarines with talc and floral accents, and underneath the fruit is a skeleton of pure stone. There's a sense of real purity and clarity to the fruit, with tremendous power, balance and persistence. Fantastic!
2009 A.J. Adam Dhroner Hofberger Riesling Spätlese
Doesn't show the same massive ripeness and Auslese-like sweetness as a bottle I'd opened a couple of months ago. It's still a powerhouse with all sorts of exotic florality and spice over ripe cherry, peach and lychee flavours, very youthful and sweet but really well balanced with bright acids and impressive length.
1998 Franz Künstler Hochheimer Domdechaney Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel
This is immense. Beerenauslese-like in its richness and power, though there's barely any sense of botrytis. Packed with incredibly ripe peaches, nectarines and red fruited flavours with an overlay of honey and creamy elements and concentrated to the point that it feels almost solid. Certainly tasty, but hard to drink much of this as whatever acidity there is gets completely smothered by the opaque, super-rich fruit.