When we started to fall in love with Riesling, the winery Joh. Jos. Prüm from the Moselle region gave the first and most important impulse. We were sitting in a nice restaurant in Stuttgart and a talented sommelier convinced us to blind taste a Prüm Riesling. This is where it happened. We were in love. Hopelessly lost.
You can imagine how exited we were when we received the invitation to visit this winery and enjoy a special tasting. The winemaker “JJ” Prüm is a legend. Dozens of winemakers are descendants of the Prüm family – from Dr. Loosen to Robert Weil in the Rheingau. For centuries they are at the top of the Moselle winemaker rankings. Famous for long lasting, beautifully balanced Riesling.
It is a winemaker with high respect for traditions. Even after the last handover from Dr. Manfred Prüm to Dr. Katharina Prüm the style of making Riesling has not changed a lot. The focus remains on wines with the exiting mixture of great acidity and slight sweetness. They are not producing dry wines – but as always the range from Kabinett and Spätlese to Icewine, TBA and Beerenauslese.
Also the tasting room in the beautiful Prüm-estate in Wehlen directly at the river Moselle is filled with traditions. Every wine they make has an amazing aging potential. You are not recommended to try the very young wines as they all have a certain smell that doesn’t make them very attractive. But you can be sure that if you ever get to taste a 40 or 50 year old JJPrüm – it will be of highest quality still.
We had an amazing tasting, where we can only share a few examples:
Graacher Himmelreich 2016 Kabinett – bold minerality, powerful slate spiciness, fine citrus, apple and pear
Zeltinger Sonnenuhr 2016 Spätlese – fine-fruity and herbal nose with elegant minerality, juicy on the palate with exotic fruits
Graacher Himmelreich 2012 and 2015 Spätlese – the 15 very lively, white fruit, complex and elegant, while the 12 is smoother, more gentle, with some honey and floral elements
Graacher Himmelreich 2010 Spätlese and Auslese – two of our favorites, from a year with high acidity, amazing vibration and presence
Wehlener Sonnenuhr 2007 and 2009 Auslese – 09 from a warmer year with big exotic fruit, acidity gently integrated, juicy, the 07 very harmonic, powerful and everlasting long
Graacher Himmelreich 2005 and 2003 Auslese Goldkapsel – the 05 with honey, spices, herbs and raisins, the 03 with caramel, candied nuts, both creamy, gentle and with great minerality
Bernkasteler Johannisbrünnchen 2004 Eiswein – Just wow, so much cassis in your mouth, floral, elegant, honey, fruit bomb on the palate, can’t get enough of that.
We have our favorites but all of these wines are simply amazing. If you can get them, please do! You will not regret it.
