WTN: 2007 JJ Prüm Kabinett (not vineyard designated)

Just opened last night a 2007 JJ Prüm Kabinett (generic-not WS, GH or BB) purchased on sale for $12.50. This wine was drinking very similarly to 2002 and 2004 St Urbans Hof Qba from a few years ago. Very pale clear color, light body, packed with minerality and a very strong acid kick. I like my riesling with an acid cut but this was approaching my limit. It was off-dry more so than most Qba. More like a halbtrocken. Served with Chicken Rollatini and it was OK. I started to open a 1997 Prüm WS Spatlese but opted for a less rich wine.

For $12.50 a good summer quaff. We'll see how it is tonight.

[David M. Bueker]

Welcome Larry! Good to see you over here.

I saw the offers on that 2007 Prum. I didn't bite due to a surplus of middle-Mosel Riesling in the cellar, but that $12.50 price tag was tempting.

It seems to that a number of the Riesling fans here don't entirely like the steely style of the 2007s - am I misinterpreting? I've had a few (including a really good, absurdly cheap Eiswein), and quite like them. Any thoughts David et al?

Oh, BTW, although I haven't often discussed it, I like German Rieslings enough to make a point of having at least a few bottles in the cellar. Waiting until next year to open my last bottle of Kesselstat Josephshafer 2001, and have some JJ Prum Spatlese WS 2002 laid down for my wife and I's anniversaries (first one to be opened in 2012).

It seems to that a number of the Riesling fans here don't entirely like the steely style of the 2007s - am I misinterpreting?

Yes. I've found very little in 07 I could call steely (maybe the Kabinetts from Schaefer and Keller, that's about it). A lot of the wines have been a little soft for my liking without the acid spine that I'd like. In that sense 08 is much more to my liking.

[David M. Bueker]

I'm pretty much right there with Salil...for now. harkening back to a year like 1997 (lowish but not low acidity) I think the 2007s will be better for me with 8-10 years of age.

Ryan, my experiences are like Salil's: in my admittedly small sample of '07s, there has been a lack of steel and acid. Hence I was pleasantly surprised to hear of Larry's "very strong acid kick".

It seems to that a number of the Riesling fans here don't entirely like the steely style of the 2007s - am I misinterpreting?

Yes. I've found very little in 07 I could call steely (maybe the Kabinetts from Schaefer and Keller, that's about it). A lot of the wines have been a little soft for my liking without the acid spine that I'd like. In that sense 08 is much more to my liking.

Hm . . . . now given I'm talking about a sample size of less than half a dozen, one QbA, two Kabinetts and an Eiswein immediately come to mind, all in the under $20 range, but without question I would describe them each as having a marked, steely acidity.

On further thought . . . . even the non-vineyard designated Prum is a relatively lower-tier wine . . . . could it be that a lack of ripeness can explain the lack of richness at the high quality end and prominent acidity at the lower quality end?

Welcome Larry! Good to see you over here.

I saw the offers on that 2007 Prum. I didn't bite due to a surplus of middle-Mosel Riesling in the cellar, but that $12.50 price tag was tempting.

David,
You might guess why I ended up at the board here. About the $12.50 price it was actually bought in a store in Austin Tx.

Day 2 notes: it has lost about ALL of that surprising acidity and is OK for something light to drink but it seems a bit dilute. Worth $12.50? Yes but I only bought one and also a couple of 07 Prüm Bernkasteler Badstube Kabs for $2-3 more. Not in the same league as some of the other producers cheap Qba's I mentioned and definitely not in the class of the 2002 WS kab that was drinking very well but still youthful last week.

Hm . . . . now given I'm talking about a sample size of less than half a dozen, one QbA, two Kabinetts and an Eiswein immediately come to mind, all in the under $20 range, but without question I would describe them each as having a marked, steely acidity..

How much German riesling do you drink? What are your usual white wines? I think I saw you getting excited about Sauternes in another thread, so if that is your baseline then pretty much all German riesling will seem steely in comparison

Hm . . . . now given I'm talking about a sample size of less than half a dozen, one QbA, two Kabinetts and an Eiswein immediately come to mind, all in the under $20 range, but without question I would describe them each as having a marked, steely acidity..

How much German riesling do you drink? What are your usual white wines? I think I saw you getting excited about Sauternes in another thread, so if that is your baseline then pretty much all German riesling will seem steely in comparison

In all honestly, as German Riesling goes, most of it is whatever happens to come my way - I don't buy them for everyday drinking all that often. I generally prefer Alsatian Riesling so a lack of baseline for acidity is not the issue. My most significant baseline for my perception of steely acidity in the 2007s is the handful of 2001s I've had. Not that the 2001s didn't have good acidity, but they were all-around well endowed, and the acidity was not as stand-out as I've perceived in the 2007s I've tried. But its not just the 2001s. Riesling at the QbA level comes my way not infrequently, and compared to all the other QbA's I can remember, the 2007 QbA's I've had I perceive to have a stand out steely acidity. And just for the record, I love this style, because its like having Alsatian focus with German richness. One more note is that although I prefer Alsace for day-to-day Riesling, the best Riesling I've had has indeed been German (and all from 2001, as it happens).

But when it comes down to it, I confess my baseline for German Riesling is probably an 1 - 2 orders of magnitude less than the outspoken Riesling fans here.