A few months ago, German wine journalist Stuart Pigott published in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung his favorite German wines and favorite German wine makers of the year – in German (Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, 23. November 2014, Nr.47, Seite 54-55). I have already reported about Stuart Pigott’s favorites here:
Best German Wines and Winemakers – Stuart Pigott’s Favorites (December 2014)
This posting focusses on his selection for Winemaker of the Year: Cornelius Dönnhoff, Weingut Dönnhoff.
Stuart Pigott
Stuart Pigott was born in the UK and Berlin-based for the past 20 years or so. During this period, he emerged as the leading German wine writer, mostly writing in German, and focusing on German wine. Notably, he now regularly writes for the specialist magazines Feinschmecker and Weingourmet as well as the Sunday edition of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. He also produced a TV series on German wine.
A few years ago, Stuart Pigott started to spend a lot of time in New York City, turning his attention to the global world of Riesling. His first major output of the move to New York City is a major book about Riesling in the world, which was published in June 2014: The Best White Wine on Earth: The Riesling Story.
If you wan to follow him: Stuart Pigott Riesling Global
See also:
Late Night German Riesling Tasting with Riesling Gurus Paul Grieco and Stuart Pigott in Washington DC on the 2013 Riesling Road Trip, USA
Winzer des Jahres – Winemaker of the Year: Cornelius Dönnhoff, Weingut H. Dönnhoff, Oberhausen/Nahe
Stuart Pigott’s Winemaker of the Year is Cornelius Dönnhoff, Weingut Dönnhoff in Oberhausen in the Nahe region. Cornelius Dönnhoff, the son of Riesling legend Hellmut Dönnhoff has been at the helm of this prestigious German Riesling producer for a couple of years.
At first sight, this award should not come as a surprise. Snooth, for example, recently listed Weingut H. Dönnhoff as one of the top 10 Riesling producers in the world. At the same time, however, the highly regarded Gault Millau WeinGuide Deutschland deleted Weingut Dönnhoff from the prestigious 5/5 grapes group in its 2015 edition. The rumor was that the demotion was triggered by the handing over of the primary responsibility for the wines from father Hellmut Dönnhoff to son Cornelius Dönnhoff. Stuart Pigott argues – and I fully agree with him - that the demotion was completely unjustified: "To make a winery famous is a great job, but to take over a world-famous wine estate from his father and keep it at the highest level is much more difficult. And this is exactly what Cornelius Dönnhoff has achieved to do in an impressive way. His dry and sweet Riesling wines are among the best white wines in the world.”
Stuart Pigott wrote about it (in German): Nun wurde vor kurzer Zeit bekannt, dass Helmuts Sohn Cornelius (oben in Central Otago/Neuseeland) schon seit einigen Jahren hinter den Dönnhoff-Weinen steckt. Seit 2007 ist er für den Keller des Guts und viel mehr verantwortlich. Lange haben viele Mitglieder der deutschen Weinszene diesen Fakt verdrängt, weil sie an ihrem „heiligen Helmut“ festhalten wollten. Nach und nach mussten sie die tatsächliche Situation im Gut wahrnehmen und das war offensichtlich ein ziemlicher Schock. Aus der Sicht vieler Gegner ist Cornelius Dönnhoff das Problem, weil er nie wie sein Vater werden kann. Das ist natürlich gehässiger Unfug!
Auch „sachliche“ Argumente werden von manchen Gegner vorgebracht. Sie deuten mit dem großen Zeigefinger auf die angeblich glatten und/oder technokratischen Dönnhoff-Rieslinge. Das starke Wachstum des Guts seit der Jahrhundertwende wird als Bestätigung für diese Behauptung genommen. Doch nur wenn man gewollt die Dönnhoff-Weine im Vergleich mit misslungenen „Natural Wines“, die nur stinkig und ruppig schmecken, stellt, wirken sie „glatt“ oder „technokratisch“, bzw. reintönig und geschliffen. In der gegenwärtigen Weinszene gilt „Authentizität“ über Alles, auch wenn es stinkt und beißt! Urig auf Teufel komm raus waren die Dönnhoff-Rieslinge aber nie. Feinheit und Eleganz sind die Ziele von Cornelius, genauso wie sie es für seinen Vater Helmut waren.
Der Hauptunterschied zwischen den Weinen von Vater und Sohn erwächst aus der Klimaerwärmung. Während der 1970er, ‚80er und weit in den ‚90er Jahre musste Helmut um reife Trauben kämpfen. Heutzutage ist das aber kein großes Problem mehr. Das ist der Grund, warum die Weine von Cornelius oft etwas voller und einen Tick weicher in der Säure schmecken als die seines Vater. Aber auch dieser Umstand ist für die Gegner schlichtweg falsch; für sie muss Alles beim Alten bleiben.
Weingut Dönnhoff
The Dönnhoff family first came to the Nahe region over 200 years ago, and after establishing a modest farm slowly evolved into a full-fledged wine estate. Helmut Dönnhoff took over from his father in 1971. Since 2007, Cornelius Dönnhoff has taken the lead in making the wines at Weingut Dönnhoff.
Their holdings represent some of the best in the Nahe and all of Germany:
Oberhäuser Leistenberg, the oldest vineyard held by the family, has slate soils and produces fruity wines with elegant acidity.
The Schlossböckelheimer Felsenberg is a very old site with porphyry soil.
Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle, perhaps the most famous of all the Nahe vineyards, is a slate vineyard with many conglomerates of volcanic rocks, mostly porphyry and melaphyr.
The Oberhäuser Brücke, the smallest vineyard in the Nahe, is a tiny parcel saddled on the Nahe River that Dönnhoff owns in entirety. The Brücke has grey slate covered by loess-clay and the vines ripen even later here than in the Hermannshöhle due to large diurnal temperature swings along the river.
The Norheimer Dellchen is a steep terraced vineyard in a rocky hollow with porphyry and slate soil. Norheimer Kirscheck sits on a steep south slope of slate soil and produces delicately fruity wines with spice and race.
The Kreuznacher Krötenpfuhl vineyard has perfect drainage due its topsoil of pebbles over loam soil; characteristic are wines with a mineralic elegance. Due to the water table that flows beneath the vineyard’s soil the Krötenpfhul has always been farmed organically, even before it was held by Dönnhoff.
For more on the Wine Tours by ombiasy, see:
German Wine and Culture Tour by ombiasy, 2013
4 Wine Tours by ombiasy coming up in 2015: Germany-East, Germany-South. Germany-Nord and Bordeaux
Although the Nahe is a dry region, the vineyards are not watered as to encourage deep rooted vines. The soil is covered with organic material like straw and compost to preserve water and to avoid evaporation and erosion in heavy rains. The vines are all grown on wire frames, low to the ground to benefit from the warmth of the stoney topsoil, and at a density of approx. 6000 vines per hectare.
80% of Dönnhoff's of vineyard holdings grow Riesling grapes, with the remaining 20% Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris. Grapes are always picked by hand over 2-3 passes through each vineyardand and are pressed as soon as possible – within 3 hours of picking. Wines are fermented in traditional German casks (1200 L Stückfass and 2400 L Doppelsrück) as well as stainless steel.
•Vineyard area: 25 hectares
•Annual production: 17,000 cases
schiller-wine - Related Postings
Late Night German Riesling Tasting with Riesling Gurus Paul Grieco and Stuart Pigott in Washington DC on the 2013 Riesling Road Trip, USA
Top 10 Riesling Producers in the World– Snooth 2012
Germany’s Best Winemakers and Wines – Gault Millau WeinGuide Deutschland 2015 Awards Ceremony in Mainz, Germany
An Afternoon with Riesling Star Winemaker Helmut Doennhoff at Weingut Doennhoff in Oberhausen in the Nahe Valley, Germany
4 Wine Tours by ombiasy coming up in 2015: Germany-East, Germany-South. Germany-Nord and Bordeaux
Germany-North Wine Tour by ombiasy, 2014
Germany-South Wine Tour by ombiasy, 2014
German Wine and Culture Tour by ombiasy, 2013
New Generation – The 111 Best Young German Winemakers (A Listing by Stuart Pigott)