WTN: 2001 JJ Prum Riesling Kabinett Wehlener Sonnenuhr

2001 JJ Prum Riesling Kabinett Wehlener Sonnenuhr

I have three bottles of this wine stored away and decided it was time to give one a go. Prum is among my favorite Riesling producers, but the release prices have been high enough that I have not purchased any recent releases. I have 2001 Kabs and Spats in storage, but have bought nothing from Prum since.

Decanted for two hours before serving. A bit of sulphur was present on opening, but it dissipated quite quickly.

Color: Greenish gold.

Nose: Lucious and intense. Apricot, tropical fruit, and pine needles. There was a sort of powdery male cologne note in the background. My wife noted honey as well.

Taste: Pear, lime, honey and stone all competing for center stage. Some hints of wildflower in the background. Super acidity and a hint of carbonation. Finish was a bit abrupt.

All and all an excellent wine.

Note to self - buy more Prum. Note to Prum - price wines more reasonably so that I can buy more of them. It's interesting that the recent release of the "Dr. M" Prum sells for more than I bought the '01 Kabs for. I have 2001 Prum WS Spats that I paid only $23 for. Around here the recent Spat and Aus releases sell for more than $30! I understand the exchange rate issues, but Prum has all but priced me out of their market. Guess I need to start saving up. Does anyone actually "save up" anymore? Seems that I haven't that term since that '70's.

[David M. Bueker]

Please do not imply that Manfred Prum is pricing his wines too highly. We're talking about world-class white wine that is available for less than $30, even with the magical, collapsing dollar. You can't that kind of quality for hte price elsewhere. And the vineyards are among the most difficult in the world to work.

I love the 2001 Kabinett by the way, but we can't expect the producers to live like paupers.

[James Roscoe]

Can someone explain to me why German Riesling has all of the sudden gone through the pricing roof? Is it just a matter of the weak U.S. dollar? I was in a D.C. store yesterday and they had NO German Riesling under $18. This seemed ridiculous. I posted this query here as I see two well informed ?Riesling guys here and it it is a Riesling thread. Sorry to post sort of "off topic".

Can someone explain to me why German Riesling has all of the sudden gone through the pricing roof? Is it just a matter of the weak U.S. dollar? I was in a D.C. store yesterday and they had NO German Riesling under $18. This seemed ridiculous..

Well, depending on what they were carrying, it is certainly not ridiculous. From the good producers, kabinetts are not going to get much cheaper than 10euros at the winery, so $18 is not a stretch.

As David said, considering how much it costs to make these wines, and the level of prices they demanded in the past, the real anomaly was that they were so cheap for several decades in the middle-end of the 20th century.

[James Roscoe]

Thanks Rahshaan. I was afraid that was the answer. Where does one look for value? I find S. Italy to be pretty goo qpr as well as S. France, and the Loire, but where else? Maybe this needs a new thread. I am really looking fo value Riesling.

Please do not imply that Manfred Prum is pricing his wines too highly.

David,

My comment was really more about my economic reality than it was about Manfred Prum's pricing. The term "too highly" is relative. When a wine (WS Spat) that I was buying three years ago for $23 now costs $38, or more, my bank account forces me to look elsewhere. It still may be a steal at $38, but I have not purchased any Prum in more than two years. I am not engaged in a boycott, I simply have to stretch my dollar. Perhaps I was the beneficiary of an excellent underpriced wine for several years. If so, I just have to say "thanks for the memories". We can both agree that Prum makes outstanding wines. I can't remember ever being disappointed by one of their offerings, though I have killed a few off prematurely.

PS: Based on my experience last night my intention is to find a happy medium for Prum between the "frequent drinking" of a few years ago, and the "not purchasing" of the last couple of years. Prum will be on my splurge list.

I am really looking fo value Riesling..

I still think there is plenty of great value German riesling. And even if the top names get pushed up (nothing we can do about it), you should still be able to find plenty of delicious wine.

Some new estates will be priced behind the Prum Weil curve. Or, places like von Hovel. Why are they so cheap?

[David M. Bueker]

German Riesling was woefully underpriced for years, damaging the sustainability of the producers. Now with only SLIGHTLY HIGHER prices (really) combined with the crash (yes crash) of the American dollar you get what you get. Let's look at a real example:

1998 J. J. Christoffel Erdener Treppchen Riesling Kabinett cost me $13 in 1999. The 2006 version cost me $22. So given the change in the dollar there's only an extra dollar or two for the producer (remember shipping costs have also gone up due to fuel prices, etc.). Nobody is getting rich on these things.

And Sam - you said for Prum to price the wines more reasonably. He can't and make money.

German Riesling was woefully underpriced for years, damaging the sustainability of the producers.

David,

I got hooked on the underpriced juice. In checking my notes I drank 17 bottles of Prum in 2004, 11 in 2005, 5 in 2006 and a surprising "zero" in 2007. My consumption pattern has been affected by limited availability also, but price is a key issue. I have no ill-will toward Prum. In fact, I have nothing but good will toward them. It's just that with a daughter in college, Prum has to be a special occasion wine.

[James Roscoe]

I'm with Sam on this one. David is entirely correct, but we have to live in the US and get paid in dollars.

[David M. Bueker]

I'm with Sam on this one. David is entirely correct, but we have to live in the US and get paid in dollars.

Well
When the dollar swings back in our favor you can watch the fine German producers go out of business.

Well
When the dollar swings back in our favor you can watch the fine German producers go out of business.

David,

Speaking for myself, and I think also for James, we have no desire to see German Riesling producers go out of business. I do not doubt that Prum and others are pricing their wine quite reasonably, but I was able to buy more Prum Spatlese WS at $23 than I can afford to buy at $38. I would love to continue buying Prum in the same quantities that I did previously. My pocket book dictates otherwise.

I travel to Southern Texas on business regularly. There is a wine shop down there that does not track the market pricing. I bought up their remaining 2001 Prum WS Kab and Spat at $18 and $23 respectively this past week. They also had an '82 Lafite Rothschild for $122! The fill was below the shoulder so I passed. It was still quite tempting.

[David M. Bueker]

Sam,

I fully understand your financial reality. I have severely cut back on my favorite producer (Donnhoff) as the wines passed the $50 mark. But please consider what you wrote: "to Prum, price your wines more reasonably." You are placing the blame for the change squarely on Manfred Prum's shpulder where it does not belong.

The market and the global economy have experienced radical change. Want to blame someone? Blame GWB for his weak dollar policy and runaway deficit spending, not Manfred Prum.

I may have posted this here earlier about the 2005 DR. F. WEINS-PRUM WEHLENER SONNENUHR RIESLING SPATLESE

8% alcohol
On sale at Bassin's (Macarthur Beverages) in DC for $26.99 but may be found for less in smaller cities.
I was contemplating purchasing this and/or the J.J. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese from the same vintage at a few dollars more. The salesman recommended this one saying that he thinks J.J. Prum is overrated and this was the better wine.
Rich straw color. Lots of CO2 spritz (still spritzy the second night!) A flavor of lemon custard or lemon meringue. Initially a sharp element on the nose just short of ammonia--this disappears with time and was not at all unpleasant.

Matched well with breaded tilapia (fish) with a squeeze of lemon juice. Lip-licking flavor. Very balanced. Perhaps a little sweet but not sugary. Goes down verrry easily. Very enjoyable with or without food. (The salesman may have been right.)
Wish I had more of these on hand.

I fully understand your financial reality. I have severely cut back on my favorite producer (Donnhoff) as the wines passed the $50 mark. But please consider what you wrote: "to Prum, price your wines more reasonably." You are placing the blame for the change squarely on Manfred Prum's shpulder where it does not belong.

David,

Perhaps I did choose my words poorly. I do wish that Prum wines were priced such that I could afford more of them, but I should not have claimed that they are priced unreasonably. In fact, their wines may have been unreasonably priced when they were 40% lower. Unfortunately, from my own selfish standpoint the outcome is the same; I still can't buy as much Prum.

he thinks J.J. Prum is overrated

My own opinion suggests that the above is impossible. All the best, Jim

[Robin Garr]

2001 JJ Prum Riesling Kabinett Wehlener Sonnenuhr

This is the kind of post that might convert a reluctant Rieslingphobe!

[David M. Bueker]

Hmm...Problem: Merchant has Weins-Prum for sale & can't move it (I've been to Bassin's & discussed that exact problem). Solution: tell customers that J. J. Prum is overrated & Weins-Prum wine is better.

Weins-Prum is vastly overrated for me. I've never had one that I really liked. Yes they are correctly made, but they don't have the soul of J. J. Prum or the stark clarity of say Selbach-Oster.

I've liked J.J. Prum wines in the past--can't get excited about Selbach-Oster. And I did like that Weins-Prum but maybe not as much as a Maximiner Grunhauser or some others with which I am just getting acquainted. What I should have done was buy both the Weins-Prum and the J.J. Prum to compare.

What I should have done was buy both the Weins-Prum and the J.J. Prum to compare.

JC,

I was going to ask if you had considered doing so. I have had the Weins-Prum wines on two occasions. My notes indicate that both were servicable, but not exciting. I have never found JJ to be overrated. Actually, I am surprised that the Prum wines don't get more attention.

[David M. Bueker]

The characteristic leesy/cheesy/funky/sulphury/whatever you want to call it-ey top note on young Prum wines puts a lot of folks off.

I just decant for 8 hours.

I opened my last bottle of 2001 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spätlese last year at MoCool in Ann Arbor. It was a big hit also and went great with Bob H's barbeque. Like you I have bought very little lately but did pick up a couple of bottles when in the Mosel last spring. Of course the dollar has lost even more ground since then I am a big fan of Prum's wine but am struggling with the price increases...

I just decant for 8 hours.

David,

I rarely drink them younger than five years any more. I typically decant for about two hours. That usually seems to be sufficient to kill the sulphur. I've never had much luck with extended decanting of whites in general. My experience is that most of them seem to go weak in the knees after a few hours a decanter.


Bob,

The '01 GH Spat never made it to any stores in the area. How does it compare to the same vintage WS Spat?

I opened my last bottle of 2001 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spätlese last year at MoCool in Ann Arbor. It was a big hit also and went great with Bob H's barbeque.

Bob,

The JJ Prum with BobH's barbeque was the wine-food match of the night for me. I think this was the same riesling the brothers had at dinner at your house and we all raved about as the WOTN. Best riesling kabinett I have ever had and I drink a lot of them. Only better rieslings I have had were some of the Ausleses that we had at John Trombley's MoCool tasting a few years ago.