Dönnhoff Kreuznacher Kahlenberg Riesling Trocken 2023

Dönnhoff Kreuznacher Kahlenberg Riesling Trocken, Nahe, Germany, 2023

Grape: 100% Riesling from 4.5ha Erste Lage (Premier Cru) vineyard, loess clay and quartzite gravel soil, 25-45 year old vines, hand harvested, 45hl/ha yield, 3.9g/L residual sugar, unoaked

Producer Tasting Note:

Lemon yellow colour with golden reflections. The Kahlenberg site always produces an intense and totally smooth type of Riesling that shines with a lot of extract and intense fruit. In 2023, it smells reduced in the glass (star fruit, yellow grapefruit, white flowers) and in the background, some smoke, yeast and fresh herbs. On the palate, it really goes wild! Kahlenberg is full-bodied and has plenty of weight on the palate, the focus is on the minerality and then there's this fine note that's reminiscent of green curry, which you just can't escape. Despite all the stoniness, this dry Riesling glides easily over the palate.

Critics' Tasting Notes:

"The 2023 Riesling Kreuznacher Kahlenberg comes from a broader, warmer part of the Nahe Valley that’s further downstream. There’s less day-night amplitude, slightly higher temperatures and deeper soils with some loess of gravel and quartzite. A touch of reduction plays on the nose with citric charm. Despite the slender contour, the palate is smooth and rounded, with fluidity and smoothness, with more generosity and fill. (Bone-dry)" Drink 2024- 2034

91/100 points, Anne Krebiehl, VINOUS, October 2024

"Anyone who usually finds the acidity of dry riesling a bit much should be a happy camper with this wine. Brimming with a fresh fruit salad of aromas, juicy and supple, it is also wonderfully refreshing and has a tingling spritz of natural carbon dioxide that lifts the juicy finish. Drink or hold."

93/100 points, James Suckling, 2024

The Kahlenberg vineyard name was first mentioned in 1499 and the site subsequently developed into a reference for the entire Nahe growing region. This was thanks to the Royal Prussian Teaching and Research Institute, whose task was to advise winegrowers on viticulture. Now recognised by the Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates (VDP) as an Erste Lage (Premier Cru) quality site.