The Dönnhoff Vineyards in the Nahe Valley - evening and early morning

View from the steep vineyards across 

to the village of Oberhausen an der Nahe

with the river in the middle ground

 Glorious evening light in the vineyards 

The flowering in 2014 has been successful and even 

and everything is well advanced but still a while to go yet! 
Riesling of course! 

 Tower in the steep vineyards (above and below)

From the vineyards down to the bridge across the

 Nahe carrying its still cobbled road 

 Post in the vineyards supporting Germany's 

quest to win the 2014 World Cup

 Helmut Dönnhoff: a backbone of steely determination!

 Helmut with Andrea Bulcock of ABS Wine Agencies organisers of the trip
and Dönnhoff's agents in the UK

 One of the local characters...

 The last rays of sunshine on the south facing slopes 

 Hermannshöhle-Restaurant Weck

After a very long day we ate and drank (Dönnhoff naturally)

extremely well here  

The vineyards of Oberhausen in the morning light 

Sign@the entrance to the village 

The Nahe@Oberhausen (above and below)
 

 

Tasting Riesling in hi-tech surroundings...

"I do it my way...!"

There is Riesling and then there is Dönnhoff

Helmut Dönnhoff: maker of great Rieslings in the Nahe

The planning had gone a little awry by the time we got to Dönnhoff. Supposed to arrive at 6pm we had yet to arrive at the winery by 7.45. We were already running considerably late and this was compounded by hitting a motorway jam, which added a good 20 minutes to our tardiness.

However, in the end it all worked out fine and for the best. We had a short tour through some of the steep Dönnhoff vineyards in marvellous mid evening light, which we might have missed had we been a little earlier and closer to our itinerary.

The vineyards have mix of old and new vines. Helmut was born in 1949 – a very fine vintage and started here in 1971 – another very fine vintage, although less good for sensible wine laws. At that time the family had four hectares of vines; he now has 25 ha.

On this trip we tasted a number of fine Rieslings but none of the consistent quality and balance shown by the Dönnhoff range.

What is the Dönndoff's secret?

For a man, who makes such wonderful and widely acclaimed Riesling, Helmut Dönnhoff is remarkably humble giving no hint of his star status. He has great warmth without flamboyance. He clearly understands and loves his vineyard sites that so vividly convey their different characteristics through Riesling. It is clear from the vineyards, the winery and offices that Helmut, and his son Cornelius, are very meticulous and precise in their work.

One example is the habitual check they use to see if a wine needs sulphur and how much as Helmut explains:

"We use as little SO2 as possible. We don't just work on analysis. You have to learn to read the nature. We pour a glass, put it on a barrel and see how it's the next day and then the following days, so we can judge the level of oxidation in the glass to see the level of sulphur each wine requires. This varies from wine to wine, vintage to vintage. Wine is always a question of balance. If necessary we  add sulphur during the process before we get to bottling, when it is never added." 

Masters of Riesling: Mosel views via Dr Loosen

 Urziger Würzgarten

Yesterday we finished in the Mosel looking at the vineyards and wines of Ernie Loosen, although he was away in France with a winemaker from Château Ste Michelle (Washington State, USA). Getting an internet connection has been very tricky, so time only for a few photos with a more detailed report to follow once I'm back later this week. 

Tortured slate strata on the Mosel

 Barges on the Mosel

The amazingly steep slopes of the Erdener Pralat 

So steep are slopes that over time the roots 

of vines move away from their supporting posts

 Rack and pinion railway to get up the very steep slope

 

 Flowering successfully over the grapes (Riesling) 

are now expanding fast

 Wehlener Sonnenuhr

Schloss above Bernkastel in evening light

 
Weingut Dr Loosen

Ernie Loosen's nephew, Daniel, who will be doing a stage@Dönnhoff 

The trip is organised by ABS agencies.

Masters of Riesling trip

Early Sunday morning light on Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Mosel

Off later this afternoon on a Masters of Riesling trip to the Mosel and Rhine. We will be visiting the Leitz, Loosen, Gunderloch, Dönnhoff, Guntrum and Fürst estates. Here are a couple of photos from my last Masters of Riesling trip in 2006.      

Rüdesheim on the Rhine

Germany: vineyards in the Mosel and the Rhine

 Early summer light on the Wehlener Sonnenhuhr reflected in the Mosel: June 2006 

Above and below

More scouring of the archives. This time June 2006 and a trip to Germany to taste Riesling. An appropriate choice as I have been tasting some Rieslings from The Wine Barn today. 

 A small party of Angels on the ferry over the Rhine

 

 

The Kirsch Angels ride again

 Bee on a rose

 Vineyards@Rüdesheim

 Fort beside the Rhine

 Steep vineyards, a barge and the Rhine

 Vineyards@Rüdesheim