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Mosel, Germany
The Wehlener Sonnenuhr vineyard has become intrinsically attached to the name of Joh. Jos. Prüm. The estate owns several hectare of this majestic site - largely planted to ungrafted vines. Very thin topsoil over the famous Devonian slate, this vineyard has the highest pure stone content of all the Prüm vineyards, and along with Zeltinger Sonnenuhr, is the steepest of all the Prüm vineyards - a dizzying 65 to 70 degree gradient. This wine is beautifully ripe, rich and rounder than Graacher. The interplay of the fruit, acid and sugar is quite remarkable. The palate boasts stone fruits like peach, nectarine, apricot, a fine minerality and has great depth and length wrapped up in an incredible synergy of mouthfeel and acidity. Pair with Spicy Szechuan pork dumplings or Roquefort cheese.
The Wehlener Sonnenuhr vineyard has become intrinsically attached to the name of Joh. Jos. Prüm. The estate owns several hectare of this majestic site - largely planted to ungrafted vines. Very thin topsoil over the famous Devonian slate, this vineyard has the highest pure stone content of all the Prüm vineyards, and along with Zeltinger Sonnenuhr, is the steepest of all the Prüm vineyards - a dizzying 65 to 70 degree gradient. This wine is beautifully ripe, rich and rounder than Graacher. The interplay of the fruit, acid and sugar is quite remarkable. The palate boasts stone fruits like peach, nectarine, apricot, a fine minerality and has great depth and length wrapped up in an incredible synergy of mouthfeel and acidity.
Pair with Spicy Szechuan pork dumplings or Roquefort cheese.
Varietal / Blend: Riesling
Decant: Not necessary
Closure: Cork
Farming Practices: Practising Organics
The Mosel River Valley is probably the most famous and arguably the most admired wine region of Germany. In its wider sense, it includes the adjacent Saar and Rüwer (hence Mosel-Saar-Rüwer), both tributaries of the Mosel River, however it is the middle Mosel (mittelmosel), in particular between and including the towns of Bernkastel-Kues and Erden that the most brilliant wines tend to be produced. Berkastel, Grach, Wehlen, and Zeltingen are some of the most famous wine towns here.
All of the vineyards of J.J. Prüm are located within this prestigious strip. The Prüm family history in the Mosel dates back as early as 1156. However Johann Josef Prüm (1873 - 1944), founded the J.J. Prüm estate in 1911. Dr Manfred Prüm has led the estate since 1969. Now his daughter Katharina is taking over the mantle. The 13.5 hectare estate includes some 70% of ungrafted vines (because the phylloxera louse cannot survive in these slate soils.)
So what is the secret is to the quality of the J.J. Prüm wines? How is it that they differ so much in style and quality from the wines of most other Mosel producers? The answer, as always, lies mostly in the vineyards, backed up by winemaking of the highest order. Great sites, old vines, the lowest yields, very late harvesting and selection of only the best berries. In the winery the winemaking is as natural as possible with as little intervention as possible.
The wines typically need several years to start showing their best and can live and develop for decades. Generally speaking, the later the harvest, the longer the wine can live, so Spatlese is more age-worthy than Kabinett, Auslese more so than Spatlese, and so on.
