Donnhoff, Riesling Spatlese Oberhauser Brucke, 2007

Nineteen years in bottle on one of Germany's most coveted Spätlesen. Dönnhoff sits at the very top of Nahe Riesling — Helmut Dönnhoff built the estate's reputation across the 1980s and 90s, and his son Cornelius now leads the cellar. Oberhäuser Brücke (literally "upper houses bridge") is the family's monopole, a small parcel of grey slate over loess loam on a south-southwest-facing slope right where the Nahe river bends past the village of Oberhausen — the river's microclimate moderates everything, encouraging early flowering and long, slow ripening. 2007 was a Kabinett- and Spätlese-friendly vintage in the Nahe, and the Brücke Spätlese in particular drew rave reviews on release. Now in full mid-life, the petrol notes are emerging alongside the citrus.