2021 Joh. Jos. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese Half Bottle 375ml, Mosel
A$99.00
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B16811V21HB
The 2021 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese is concentrated and fresh on the aromatic nose that is immediately present but also still reductive. Ripe stone fruit aromas intermingle with notes of crushed stones on a deep foundation of aromas from the soil and the fruit of old vines. On the palate, the 2021 is very fine but also intense, savory, saline and lush, leading to a long, intense and highly digestible finish with crunchy and cleansing slate features. Again, this is a fabulous Auslese from Prüm's iconic Sonnenuhr. 7% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted at the domaine in May 2023.
Katharina Prüm showed me her 2021s earlier this month because she prefers to present her newest vintage only after two winters following the harvest, with which I fully agree, even if the wines are offered earlier in certain markets. The 2021 vegetation year contrasts madly with the previous year, 2022. What was too dry in 2022 was too wet and cool in 2021. The consequences for both extreme vintages, however, were similar. The grapes did not reach the highest concentrations and must weights, which, for different reasons, made both vintages primarily classic Kabinett and Spätlese years. Nevertheless, there are sometimes grandiose Auslese and even higher Prädikate, but they were not the rule. At Prüm, at any rate, there are no less than four Auslese, including a celestial one from the Wehlener Sonnenuhr, which was auctioned off, as well as a Kabinett and a Spätlese from the same site. As is well known, Prüm is the top dog in this vineyard and, even after the land consolidation, has a good proportion of old and very old vines. Compared to the Graachers, Wehleners and Zeltingers, the Bernkasteler Rieslings of the domaine fell off somewhat in 2021 and did not achieve the usual precision and finesse. However, this may have been due to the rain, because there was plenty of it in 2021, especially in Bernkastel. So, back to the weather. Winter 2021 was overall cold, humid and also lasted a bit longer than in the previous two years, reports Prüm. December 2020 was wet overall, with well-above-average water amounts (+46%) and temperatures slightly above the long-term average. January and February were wintry and satisfactory in terms of precipitation, thoroughly soaking the soils with water before the warmer months of the year began (similar to 2023). March and April were then drier than the average of recent years but also cold, with a total of 15 frost days. Budding and flowering occurred about two weeks later than average. After slightly above-average amounts in May and June, precipitation peaked in July with a plus of 130% or, expressed in liters, 160 liters per square meter above the long-term average! This led to flooding—not only in the Ahr Valley but also on the Moselle, though there on a much less dramatic scale. The large amount of rain boosted vegetation, keeping the Prüm team quite busy with canopy management during the following weeks when high-pressure weather was rare (as it was throughout the growing season). "Approaching autumn, temperatures remained relatively moderate, with the regional typicity of cool nights starting to happen," reports Prüm. Harvest kicked off on October 11 and lasted until November 15. "It was a very demanding harvest, when most parcels were picked multiple times in order to select the individual grapes at best ripeness levels," says Prüm. However, there was not any considerable amount of botrytized grapes picked. "We were very much looking forward to the cooler style of the 2021s, which we consider as a welcome alternation to the previous—and most probably also future—vintages.
97 points SR robertparker.com
The wines of the Wehlener Sonnenuhr generally possess excellent structure, show beautiful, ripe aromas and flavours (typically stone fruits, like peach, nectarine, apricot), a fine minerality and great depth and length. Especially after having been aged for some years, the harmony, finesse and expression of these wines is unique. These are a perfect marriage of Riesling’s peach-like, floral and mineral aspects. White wine cannot be fresher, more vivid and delightful.
Wine is a kind of bottled energy and there is no producer that packs more voltage into their bottles than Joh. Jos. Prüm. The Prüm family history in the Mosel dates back as early as 1156, though it was Johann Josef Prüm (1873 - 1944) who founded the estate in 1911. Under Johann Josef’s son, Sebastian, by the mid-1930s the distinctive style of the Prüm wines had been forged. From 1969, the imitable Dr Manfred Prüm would take the reputation Joh. Jos. Prüm to even greater heights, and today the estate is run by Manfred’s daughter Katharina Prüm who watches over 13.5 precious hectares of vines perched on the vertiginous slate-rich slopes of the Middle Mosel.
In The Wines of Germany, Stephen Brook writes “With the rise of so many excellent winemakers in the [Mosel], one might have supposed that Joh. Jos. Prüm, with its profound conservatism, might have been overtaken and left behind. Not a bit of it. The Estate remains where it has been for decades: at the summit.” 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 majesty of the vineyards (backed up by meticulous winemaking): great sites, old vines, the lowest yields, very late harvesting and selection of only the best berries.
“To drink a Riesling from Joh Jos Prüm is to enjoy a springtime of heart and mind. These delicately floral wines from the top sites of Wehlen and Graach have a unique combination of lightness, finesse, elegance, and energy.” Stephan Reinhardt
Importantly, 90% of the Estate’s vines are ungrafted with an average age exceeding 60 years. There are a number of key parcels between aged between 70 and 100 years and more. This has all kinds of implications for yield and quality. Then, the picking dates are exceptionally precise, every parcel is picked only when perfectly ripe (subject to Pradikat) and often with multiple passes.
In the winery the winemaking is as natural as possible with as little intervention as possible: natural yeast, unrushed fermentation and patient aging on lees—the wines are never rushed and are only bottled when ready. This extra time on natural lees means the wines absorb everything the lees have to give (this sometimes means some gentle reduction and wines that need some time to unwind). Finally, the Prüm family is a family of perfectionists. They are only interested in producing greatness and honouring the remarkable vineyards and ancient vines that they are blessed to farm.
All four of Prum’s key vineyards share the same soils—grey and blue Devonian slate—and south-to-south westerly aspects. They all sit alongside each other, on the one continuous slope, between Bernkastel and Zeltingen in the middle Mosel. Bernkasteler Badstube, then Graacher Himmelreich, then Wehlener Sonnenuhr, then Zeltinger Sonnenuhr. That’s the order of the vineyards travelling north up the river from Bernkastel (or northwest to be precise). These vineyards have been in continuous production for some 2000 years! The major differences between the sites have to do with the variation in the aspect (from south to southwest), the steepness and the depth of the soil. It sounds so subtle and yet the wines that result are all so wonderfully distinctive.
All the vineyards of J.J. Prüm are renowned, yet it is the majestic Wehlener Sonnenuhr vineyard that is the most famous. This revered site lies opposite the village of Wehlen and the Estate owns seven hectares—largely planted to ungrafted wines—which has very thin topsoil over Devonian slate (in some areas of the vineyard the plants grow out of pure rock). Wehlener Sonnenuhr has the highest pure stone content of all the Prüm vineyards, and along with neighbouring Zeltinger, is the steepest of Prüm’s vineyards—a dizzying 65-70% gradient in places. Stuart Pigott puts it well when he notes that, “In top vintages the Wehlener Sonnenuhr yields the richest, silkiest, most seductive wines on the Mosel. The fame of these Rieslings is inextricably linked with that of the Joh Jos Prüm estate.”
| Product/Service Sold Out | No |
|---|---|
| En Primeur | No |
| New Arrivals | No |
| Wine Type | White Wine |
| Wine Style | Traditional |
| Country | Germany |
| Region | Mosel |
| Varietals | Riesling, Spatlese |
| Vintage | 2021 |
| Bottle Size | 375ml |
| Wine Points | 97 |
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