{"product_id":"donnhoff-wachenheimer-riesling-trocken-2024","title":"Dönnhoff Wachenheimer Riesling Trocken 2024","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Land\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe most celebrated name in the Nahe made this wine from grapes grown in the Pfalz. In late April 2024, frost tore through Dönnhoff's Nahe vineyards and destroyed much of the crop, so the family did something without precedent in the estate's history: they took on roughly one hectare of Riesling in Wachenheim an der Weinstraße, farmed by Dr. Bürklin-Wolf, in the Gerumpel and Rechbächel vineyards of the Mittelhaardt. The soils here are yellow and red Triassic sandstone rather than the volcanic and slate mosaic of Oberhausen, and that colored-sandstone warmth shows in the glass — riper yellow fruit, broader texture — while the Haardt range shelters the vines from Atlantic weather.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Wine\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is Dönnhoff's first Pfalz Riesling ever — a one-vintage document of the 2024 frost year. The grapes were harvested by hand in Wachenheim, then trucked to the cellar in Oberhausen and handled exactly as the Nahe fruit: a light crush, two hours of low-pressure pressing, overnight settling, and fermentation in a combination of stainless steel and large used oak casks. Bottled as a bone-dry VDP Ortswein, it opens with yellow plum, red apple, and citrus over a distinct sandstone stoniness, then turns saline and juicy mid-palate — medium-bodied, more textured than crystalline, with ripe acidity carrying tart apple and yellow plum through a long finish. Give it air; it unwinds slowly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe People\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Dönnhoff family has farmed in Oberhausen an der Nahe since 1750. Helmut Dönnhoff built the estate's reputation over four decades, turning sites like the Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle into shorthand for great German Riesling, and his son Cornelius has led the cellar since 2007. Their response to losing a crop says a lot about how they work: rather than stretch thin fruit, they borrowed a vineyard from a like-minded colleague — Bürklin-Wolf, whose Wachenheim vines are farmed organically — and applied their own harvest crews and winemaking to it. The result is a collector's oddity that drinks like a serious dry Riesling from the Pfalz with a Nahe accent.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFood Pairing\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePork schnitzel with lemon and capers — the wine's ripe acidity does the same work the lemon does, cutting the fried crust. Roasted chicken thighs with fennel, garlic, and white wine pan juices, where the yellow-plum fruit meets the caramelized fennel. Trout in brown butter with almonds, since the saline finish flatters freshwater fish. Or a plate of Comté and soft pretzels, because dry Riesling and salt were made for each other. A frost-year wine that will never be made again — worth opening while the story is still fresh.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Maverick Wine Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51288827723999,"sku":null,"price":52.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0439\/7436\/1248\/files\/P8280234.jpg?v=1787961526","url":"https:\/\/denverwinemerchant.com\/products\/donnhoff-wachenheimer-riesling-trocken-2024","provider":"Denver Wine Merchant","version":"1.0","type":"link"}