Notes:

Oberhuser Leistenberg Kabinett is from a south-east-facing site of shale, getting the morning sun; this is never affected by botrytis and is shaded in the afternoon, so a late-harvest is possible because bo rved. The nose combines lemon zest, stone and herbal tisane. The palate add just a little sweetness, giving the charm to the citric verve, but all remains light, tender, bright and so deceptively easy. What a tease, what elegance, what lemon resonance! - Vinous Media 94

• Producer: Weingut Dönnhoff is one of the benchmark estates of Germany’s Nahe region, with the family’s winegrowing history in the area extending for more than two centuries. Helmut Dönnhoff brought the estate to international prominence beginning with his first vintage in 1971, and today his son Cornelius Dönnhoff directs the winery. Riesling is at the heart of the domaine, and Dönnhoff’s holdings encompass many of the Nahe’s most celebrated vineyards around Oberhausen, Niederhausen, Norheim and neighboring villages. The estate is particularly admired for its ability to produce Riesling across the full spectrum of styles, from dry wines to delicately sweet Kabinett and richer Prädikat wines, while retaining the precision and mineral character associated with the Nahe. The Oberhäuser Leistenberg Kabinett is a particularly classic part of that range, combining low alcohol, residual sweetness and pronounced acidity in a style built around lightness rather than concentration.
• Vineyard: Oberhäuser Leistenberg is one of Dönnhoff’s historic vineyard holdings and is particularly well suited to Kabinett. The steep vineyard faces southeast and is dominated by weathered gray slate with clay, giving the site a distinctly different character from some of the estate’s volcanic vineyards nearby. Its exposure is especially important. Morning sunshine helps dry the grapes, while the vineyard receives less intense direct sun later in the day. This allows Riesling to ripen slowly while preserving acidity and avoiding excessive ripeness—exactly the conditions needed for a fine, lightweight Kabinett. The vineyard is also partly protected by the neighboring Lemberg. The combination of exposure, slate soils and long growing season produces wines known for delicacy, freshness and a distinctly saline mineral quality.
• Winemaking: The 2023 Oberhäuser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett is 100% Riesling and is made in the traditional fruity, off-dry-to-sweet Kabinett style rather than as a trocken wine. The grapes are selectively harvested by hand, with élevage carried out in a combination of stainless steel and large oak casks. At only 9% alcohol, the finished wine retains the lightness that makes Kabinett such a distinctive expression of Riesling. The 2023 shows white peach, citrus and floral notes alongside the slate-driven mineral character of Leistenberg. Vinous particularly emphasized its lemon, stone and herbal character, as well as the interplay between a small amount of sweetness and bright acidity. Despite the residual sugar, the wine remains light and energetic rather than heavy, with the sweetness balanced by the vineyard’s naturally firm acidity.
• Technical Details: 2023 vintage; 100% Riesling; Oberhäuser Leistenberg; Nahe, Germany; Kabinett; 750ml; 9% alcohol. The vineyard is a steep, southeast-facing site based principally on weathered gray slate and clay. The wine is fruit-sweet rather than analytically dry, and Falstaff reports 48.4 g/L residual sugar for the 2023. This is a useful number in context: the combination of high natural acidity, low alcohol and mineral structure keeps the wine much more refreshing and delicate than the residual-sugar figure alone might suggest. Vinous gives the wine a drinking window extending from 2028–2050, underscoring how well top Kabinett can develop despite its seemingly weightless style.
• Food Pairing: Kabinett Riesling is exceptionally versatile at the table because its combination of sweetness, acidity and low alcohol works with foods that can be difficult for dry wines. This would be particularly good with Thai or Vietnamese dishes, spicy curries, pork, glazed duck, sushi or shellfish. The residual sweetness can temper chile heat, while the acidity keeps richer or sweeter sauces from becoming heavy. It would also work beautifully with mildly pungent or creamy cheeses and is light enough to serve as an aperitif.