Wine Advocate 95
"The 2018 Niederhuser Hermannshhle Riesling Sptlese is deep and flinty as well as complex on the stony nose with its ripe and even stewed peach aromas. Silky, lush and refined on the palate, this is a concentrated yet pure, crystalline and delicate Riesling Sptlese with a long and complex, very mineral and filigreed, lingering salty finish. Highly stimulating and fresh. A gorgeous Sptlese from the famous Hermannshhle. Tasted in July 2019."

James Suckling 94
"This is minerally and salty with impressive chalk, dried-apple and pear character and a honey undertone. Full-bodied, sweet and very rich. More like an Auslese. Tangy finish. Drink now."

The Wine
Hermannshhle Riesling Sptlese Traditional, stately Sptlese with an incredible wealth of fruit aromas and, despite its impressive concentration, an ephemeral grace and elegance.

For over 100 years, the Hermannshhle has been revered as the Nahes top-ranked site and the benchmark by which all other vineyards in the region are judged. It takes its name from a small mine, or Hhle, in the middle of the hillside. Hermann is derived from Hermes, the Roman god of messengers and travelers, and the name likely hints at an ancient place of worship once located here. This site faces due south and lies 130 175 m above sea level. Its soils are primarily blackish gray slate mixed with extrusive igneous rock, porphyry and limestone. For generations, this marvelous site has shaped our expectations for what fine wines from the Nahe can achieve.

The Estate
The Dnnhoff 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 Dnnhoff has been making the wine since 1971, and now his son Cornelius works alongside in the winery and in their 25 hectares of Erste Lage, or grand cru vineyards. Their holdings represent some of the best in the Nahe and all of Germany. Oberhuser Leistenberg, the oldest vineyard held by the family, has slate soils and produces fruity wines with elegant acidity. The Schlossbckelheimer Felsenberg is a very old site with porphyry soil. Niederhuser Hermannshhle, perhaps the most famous of all the Nahe vineyards, is a slate vineyard with many conglomerates of volcanic rocks, mostly porphyry and melaphyr. The Oberhuser Brcke, the smallest vineyard in the Nahe, is a tiny parcel saddled on the Nahe River that Dnnhoff owns in entirety. The Brcke has grey slate covered by loess-clay and the vines ripen even later here than in the Hermannshhle 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 Krtenpfuhl 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 vineyards soil the Krtenpfhul has always been farmed organically, even before it was held by Dnnhoff.

Although the Nahe is a dry region, Dnnhoff does not water their vineyards 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. The Riesling vines are old clones sourced from the sites in Niederhausen and Schlobckelheim.

Grapes are always picked by hand at Dnnhoff over 2-3 passes through each vineyard. To preserve laser-like focus and clarity in the wines, the grapes are pressed as soon as possible within 3 hours of picking. Wines are fermented in traditional German casks (1200 L stuck and 2400 L doppelstuck) as well as stainless steel with spontaneous fermentations. Donnhoffs cellar is unique in its capacity to hold all of its production entirely in stainless steel or in cask, allowing for the ideal elevage for any wine at any point during a vintage.