2017 Riesling QbA Trocken

Issuing as usual from the volcanic Oberhäuser Felsenberg and (as its name suggests) cobbled Kieselberg, this year’s dry Dönnhoff Gutsriesling is scented with lemon, pear and crushed stone. The palate is distinguished by a combination of textural gloss and palpable density with refreshing primary juiciness and invigorating counterpoint thanks to tangy pear skin, piquant pear pip and lemon zest, as well as smoky, stony impingements. The finish is quite formidably gripping, but a youthful tendency toward slight hardening and austerity, that I noticed at the estate in early November, 2018 had largely dissipated when I re-tasted the wine stateside a month later. The label reads “12% alcohol,” but you could have persuaded me that the wine harbored less, as there is a nice sense of bounce and lift.