A near-perfect vintage leads to exquisite, chiselled Rieslings from the great Nahe estate
'The wines are simply beautiful, luminous and so expressive of their sites, with real personality, beautiful Nahe backbone and such charming, generous fruit. What a stellar collection.' — Anne Krebiehl MW, vinous.com
Helmut Dönnhoff who, at the age of 77, has seen more a few vintages, says he can 'barely remember such beautiful fruit'. Conditions in 2025 in the Nahe Valley were near perfect. A rainy winter had left good water reserves in the soil. Spring was not troubled by frost. Summer was warm but there were no damaging heat spikes. There were more hours of sunshine than almost any year on record. The vines had everything they needed, and ripeness raced ahead, leading to what was a fast, exhausting, but brilliant harvest.
Dönnhoff are one of Germany's great estates. They've been making wine in the Nahe since the 1750s, and Helmut's son Cornelius was named German Winemaker of the Year within a few years of taking the lead. It helps, of course, when you have such a good portfolio of vineyard sites to work with; they have vineyards in no less than nine Grosse Lagen (grand cru) sites.
The Nahe is geologically dramatic, with steeply terraced vineyards spread across a diverse variety of soil and rock types. The combination of excellent ventilation and reflected river light means that south-facing vineyards offer ideal circumstances for great Riesling. The Dönnhoffs have parleyed the great 2025 vintage here into a set of exquisite, chiselled wines. The GGs (Grosses Gewächs, great growths) show intense single-site complexity, and the off-dry styles trip you up with their contrasting combination of ripe aromas, then delicate body. /NT
Offered subject to remaining unsold. Wines available winter 2026.To place an order, click on the wines below or call 020 7638 5998
