German Catalog 2006 USE THIS ONE.qxp - Michael Skurnik Wines

wines are different texturally, and they feel different existentially;
they indicate a divine serenity, they seem to
have emerged fully formed. Of course it’s my conceit to
imagine so, for I know well what year-long schvitzy work
goes into them. But if any companion said that a
Dönnhoff wine was “well-made” I’d be taken aback. “But
they’re not . . . oh, well yeah sure, I guess someone makes
them,” I’d mumble.
Maybe it’s because they seem so effortless that I feel
I hear something speaking through them. As I said, these
things are hard to put into words.
I know a lot of you who regard these wines with an
almost religious awe. I watched Helmut (and his wife
Gabi) pouring at my New York DI tasting one June. A taster
had his epiphany: “Wait a minute,” he said, “Are you
Dönnhoff?” Helmut assented bashfully. “Omigod! We’re not
worthy. We’re not worthy.” He cried, waving his arms in the
hosanna gesture. I sidled up behind Helmut and winked.
“Star-power.” I said. “Verrückt” (Crazy!) he replied.
In this humble taster’s opinion, these are the greatest
dönnhoff at a glance:
Rieslings on earth. No other wine, anywhere, exceeds
the clarity, polish, complexity and sheer beauty of flavor of this grower’s finest wines.
how the wines taste:
Simply, like the most perfect Riesling that can ever be.
GDH-173 2005 Hermannshöhle Grosses Gewächs +(+)
I always taste the dry wines, and have usually accepted the wisdom of leaving them in
Germany for the Trocken-freaks, so as to get larger allocations of the, ahem, sweet
wines. This year I asked Helmut if he’d like one of his top dry wines exposed to
Americans, and he agreed he would.
So we tasted the Big-3 GGs, Felsenberg, Dellchen,
Hermannshöhle, and we were off and running.
Felsenberg was the kindly librarian, Dellchen was the
stern disciplinarian, Hermannshöhle was the retired
old professor of philosophy, sitting in his favorite chair
contemplating lofty principles while enjoying his old
pipe. Next thing I knew my darling Karen Odessa
revealed a hitherto unknown talent for caricature,
whose lovely results are here.
Well, the 04s aren’t gonna change your mind dude.
It’s lonely at the top, of course, and when you’re perceived
to be “Number 1” all you can do is fall. Wine writers
looking for a story have been known to hasten that
process—it’s hardly news when the number 1 guy made
the best wines yet again. But I can’t say I see the slightest
sign of this happening with Dönnhoff. No revisionism,
no nitpicking for “flaws” just because someone else
lauded the wines to the skies. And I think I know why.
It’s because we don’t just admire these wines—we love
them. Helmut is content to do the smallest, most elusive
thing of all with his wines —to tell the simple truth.
It says something about the Riesling religion that its
high priests are so down to earth, because great Riesling
COMES DOWN TO EARTH. Earth and soil is the reason
it is great. Welcome then, to many of the greatest soils in
the world of wine, and the wry, genial and careful man
who midwives them into being for us.
Dry, you really notice how smoky the Hermannshöhle can be; this is from a 60-year old
parcel Helmut prefers to make his dry wine from (the higher and slatier one gives us
our beloved sweet); this smells like burning cuttings and blackberry; the mid-palate is
wonderfully mineral and dignified; the wine has the repose of one who needn’t suffer
fools, yet the finish wafts an echo, a smile of blossoms.
SOS: 0 (now - 3 years, again 12-15 years)
101
NAHE WINES