Author: Dirk Chan
As you all know, we love our German Rieslings at deVines, and our order from the famous J. J. Prum winery last fall has finally arrived. Prum is without doubt one of the most respected houses in the Mosel – their longevity and history of excellence in the Mosel is really only matched by Egon Muller. For Riesling lovers, Prum doesn’t need any introduction and once you taste their Rieslings, you’ll know why. We have brought in multiple vintages and formats of the three most famous vineyards (descriptions below). Quantities are limited so stock up early for best selection. Listen to your Voice of Riesling and enjoy some today!!
Lets talk about the most famous vineyard, the Wehlener Sonnenuhr. The Wehlener Sonnenuhr vineyard is the flagship – there is five hectares of this majestic site. It offers perfect growing conditions for the Riesling grape with its deep, grey slate soil, good water support, extreme steepness, and its optimal south-south-west exposure. Wehlener Sonnenuhr is named after the sundial erected in the vineyard in 1842 to give the workers a better time orientation. The wines of this vineyard offers excellent structure, show beautiful, ripe aromas and flavors of stone fruits, a fine minerality, and great depth and length. And they age effortlessly for decades. Gone in recent vintages are the sulphur like notes (which blow off in the glass anyways) which were prevalent pre-2010.
2015 Joh. Jos. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese (Mosel, Germany) – $65.99
2018 Joh. Jos. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese (Mosel, Germany) – $63.99
Our favourite vineyard is the Graacher Himmelreich, which borders the southern edge of the Wehlener Sonnenuhr vineyard. The wines from this site often rival the quality of those from its more famous neighbour, especially in hot, dry years. Graacher wines attract with their fine racy acidity, a pronounced slate and rock like minerality and a more citrus fruit aromas and flavors. Another aspect is it tends to drink slightly earlier than the Wehlener Sonnenuhr and are deliciously juicy and mouth-watering when young. The vineyard has a south-west exposure, is less steep which act as excellent water reservoirs.
Pictured left to right:
2012 Joh. Jos. Prum Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese (Mosel, Germany) – $64.99
2015 Joh. Jos. Prum Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese (Mosel, Germany) – $61.99
2016 Joh. Jos. Prum Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese (Mosel, Germany) – $57.99
2017 Joh. Jos. Prum Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese (Mosel, Germany) – $59.99
2018 Joh. Jos. Prum Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese (Mosel, Germany) – $54.99
Finally, there’s the Bernkasteler Badstude vineyard, borders that of the Graacher Himmelreich on its southern edge. The slopes are on a marginally shallower gradient, with deeper soils than the Graacher and Wehlener, while the western orientation allows the vines longer exposure to the afternoon sun. The Badstube is very floral, delicate and minerally wine. Overall, the wines are usually slightly more delicate in structure and weight when compared with the wines of Graacher or Wehlener, but they are wonderfully racy and fine examples of the middle Mosel.
2018 Joh. Jos. Prum Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Kabinett (Mosel, Germany) – $45.99
2017 Joh. Jos. Prum Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Spatlese (Mosel, Germany) – $54.99
Last but not least, for those who have large gatherings, we have brought in some rare Magnums (1.5L) (gorgeous looking) offerings to tempt you with:
2018 Joh. Jos. Prum Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett (Mosel, Germany) – $109.99
2017 Joh. Jos. Prum Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett (Mosel, Germany) – $119.99
2018 Joh. Jos. Prum Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese (Mosel, Germany) – $129.99
2016 Joh. Jos. Prum Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese (Mosel, Germany) – $129.99
2018 Joh. Jos. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese (Mosel, Germany) – $144.99