Dönnhoff Oberhauser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett 2023
- js96
- v94
Category | White Wine |
Varietal | |
Brand | Dönnhoff |
Origin | Germany, Nahe |
Alcohol/vol | 9% |
Importer Notes:
The Leistenberg vineyard lies in a small side valley of the Nahe just outside Oberhausen. The name is a double play on words. “Leisten ” means “achieve ” in German, and the Leistenberg perpetually lives up to its name. “Lei ” is also a regional word for slate, and these warm, decomposed clay slate soils and steep terraced hillsides provide ideal conditions for Riesling to thrive. Th e southeast-facing slope basks in the morning sun, which dries out any excess moisture and promotes healthy fruit. Th e afternoon sun is less powerful, nurturing a long ripening period and moderate alcohol levels. An ideal vineyard for Kabinett wines of high minerality and sophisticated elegance.
James Suckling
- js96
A stunningly elegant and vibrant riesling Kabinett that is packed with white peach and honeysuckle aromas. Succulent on the front of the light-bodied palate, then with a crystalline purity at the finish that takes your breath away. This is not analytically dry, but plenty of enthusiastic wine drinkers will say that is exactly what it is. Drink or hold. Screw cap.
Vinous
- v94
The 2023 Riesling Oberhäuser Leistenberg Kabinett is from a south-east-facing site of shale, getting the morning sun; this is never affected by botrytis and is shaded in the afternoon, so a late harvest is possible because botrytis never occurs, and acids are preserved. The nose combines lemon zest, stone and herbal tisane. The palate adds just a little sweetness, giving the charm to the citric verve, but all remains light, tender, bright and so deceptively easy. What a tease, what elegance, what lemon resonance!