I never thought it would happen to me, but I poured two Dönnhoff wines down the sink that were not corcked or obviously damaged. Until now, even the least successful of his wines were always a pleasure to drink. But Tonschiefer trocken 2009 was too much 2009 for me to enjoy. I saw no spine, no minerality, no elegance, just an inexpressive fatty mess on the palate. Drinkable, of course, but no fun at all. Moving on the Felsenberg trocken 2010. That should not suffer from 09s flaws. It suffers from others. It has a strange salty/soapy finish, no dancing on the tounge, no lightness, but a short and unpleasant aftertaste. I assume the de-acidification that is common place in 2010 has left an ugly mark on the wine, but I'm not a technical expert. I would not conclude too much from these instances, but they confirm a ceratain reservation about the vintages 09 and 10 and a doubt whether Helmut Dönnhoff is up to his very best level right now, as he was for a decade or so.
Peter