Dönnhoff Riesling Trocken Tonschiefer 2021/2022

The year 2021 was, after a long time, once again a classic vintage, something that Cornelius Dönnhoff has not had this century. For his father, Helmut Dönnhoff , however, a late harvest in October and November was still common. The harvest at the Dönnhoff winery took place about two to three weeks later than in recent years, as there were no periods of intense heat, only frequent rain without storms. The great challenge of the vintage was Downy mildew , requiring rigorous protection of the vines and meticulous care of the foliage to keep the leaf wall airy and healthy. Without this work, in addition to the late harvest, physiological ripeness would not have been achieved in 2021.

The harvest began in the last week of September and lasted until the second week of November, when the nights were already noticeably cold. The sugar levels in the must were low, but the grapes were still ripe, despite the extremely high acidity. The large Dönnhoff team was able to harvest at the ideal time in each vineyard. Since there was practically no botrytis in the central Nahe region , it was not possible to select Beerenauslesen and Trockenbeerenauslesen , only Eiswein .

The musts were cold due to the freezing nights and could be processed without rushing.

The fact that the 2021 wines managed to maintain their balance even without residual sugar, despite their high acidity (10 grams per liter), surprised even the Dönnhoff team at the beginning of the harvest. Since some of the acidity precipitated in the form of tartar, the wines were riper and more rounded on the palate than expected in the autumn. To naturally buffer the acidity (with potassium and calcium), the musts were left in contact with the extract-rich grapes for longer than usual. This allowed the tartaric acid to bind with other compounds and partially precipitate, provided the wine was given the necessary time.

The vintage results are exceptional , especially for Dönnhoff , especially in the Grosses Gewächs and Auslese categories. The Dellchen GG was perfectly timed when I tasted it in late July, but the wine was still excellent four weeks later in Wiesbaden.