2007 Riesling Oberhäuser Brücke Auslese

Although many producers on the Nahe still remember 2006 as a difficult vintage, Helmut Donnhoff speaks of it as one of the best since 1971 or 1989. Is it possible that 2007 is even better? Time will answer that question, but it is already clear that Donnhoff's 2007s belong in the upper echelons in Germany. As so often before, his spatleses stand out in any crowd. I tasted six, each refracting the light of its vineyard in a different tone but all sublime. My favorite came from the Dellchen site, and I consider it to be one of the half dozen best spatleses of the vintage. That is perhaps not all that surprising, as spatlese is this estate's specialty, but Donnhoff's ascension in the ranks of producers of dry riesling certainly is. Although the past two or three vintages have been very good, I had never tasted a collection of dry rieslings of this stature before. The 2007 Hermannshohle Grosses Gewachs is better than the 2006-and that was the finest dry riesling of the vintage! Donnhoff made no trockenbeerenauslese in 2007, but his beerenauslese was one of the top ten botrytis wines of the vintage as well. As I wrote last year, when Donnhoff is on the label, neither the predicate nor the site is important. The wine is going to be good. (Terry Theise Estate Selections; imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY) Also recommended: 2007 Riesling Trocken Tonschiefer (87), 2007 Schlossbockelheimer Felsenberg Riesling Trocken (88), 2007 Schlossbockelheimer Felsenberg Riesling Trocken Grosses Gewachs (91), 2007 Riesling (86), 2007 Oberhauser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett (87).