The note that goes on forever (JJ Prum '07)

J.J. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett 2007

I realize for many of the Riesling combat veterans hereabouts that his will be alter hut but sweet mother loving monkey this wine was atomic fueled. Now being a good little book reading tyro I've noted that the Prum wines are frequently pointed to as benchmarks of quality for German wine though the prices are in the "not cheap at all" category. My wine drinking partner and crime I both decided to stump for a couple of bottles. He picked up the above referenced Kabinett and I got the Spätlese version. Kind of like the initial release and then the Criterion Collection (Aulese being the boxed set)?

In any case we finally got around to seeing what all the hoopla was about, to see if this rep was deserved. I am here to tell you I was blown right off my seat. I had assumed that the Kabinett version would be this thin little whisper of of a wine with nice zinging acidty and gossamer strands that hinted at exotic fruits. Unexpected was the full power chord room enveloping taste that only just faded after nearly two weeks. I finally had to call a taxi and send it home, tie askew.

This trickster starts in the glass a seemingly innocent golden yellow, a whiff of Riesling fruit, and then a ever increasing note of topical-ish..er...ness. Unlike many wines where there seems to be a very complex range tastes that cross plants, animals and ancient furniture, this, for me anyway, had a very pure note. Sure the note rose and fell, dipped, wavered, came back strong, wavered with a bit more vibrato, and then set the controls for the heart of the sun. I know I'm supposed to mention apricot/mango/etc. and the amalgam of fruit flavor was there, though as one hybrid fruit. The minerality of the Prum was more ghosts of stone, not quite as pronounced as some other Mosels I've had, though it is certainly there intertwined with the sharply oscillating acidity. Length? This wine shops at Big & Tall.

Unfortunately this is the first wine I've come across where the price tag seems absolutely deserved. As soon as I can afford a parachute and helmet the Spätlese will get opened. The only conceivable fault with this wine is it made every other wine sampled for days afterwords taste like so much bargain dish washing liquid.

Don't know why but this wine made me think of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUVt6MqrWgk

BTW sorry for the apparent duplicate post. I was trying to edit this and there was some SQL hiccup.

[David M. Bueker]

No problem on the dup post. It doesn't seem to be clickable anyway.

As for the Prum - have a cigar. It could be made into a monster, if we all pull together as a team.

Prum wines, when they are showing their best, and not in some post apocolyptic sulfurus funk, are just about the best Germany has to offer, sitting along side the offerings of Egon Muller, Donnhoff and Robert Weil as the elite of sweeter style wines. The issue is catching them at their best. I am glad you did.

I did have concerns about timing as it seems most of the Riesling-eisuers hereabouts seem to be drinking wines with quite a bit of time under their belts. So while wary of popping the bottle before its prime I felt it imperative to get some idea of what was going on and waiting ten years didn't seem the right play. I could see how this bottle might have settled down and gained some finesse with time, though I really liked it as it was. The odd thing is I would have normally counted myself as one more on the trocken side of the divide, but this was stellar. Not to say it was sweet in the normal sense, though it definitely had a bit of the sugared tap on the shoulder.

Waiting on the Spätlese seems to be the correct thing to do, though I have an almighty curiosity about that. My mind is not yet ready to begin to comprehend what might be going on with an Auslese. Thankfully my pocket is encouraging my mind to forgo any such fancies.

[David M. Bueker]

Kelly,

You are still in the early wndow where both the kabinett and spatlese can be completely approachable. I was more referring to the odd moods of a bottle of Prum where the sulfur beasties sometimes overcome the wine. That still happens at ten years of age.

If you are truly curious about the spatlese then now is a good time, where as a year from now or 3 years from now will both likely not be great times. My advice is drink soonish or after another 7-10 years.

Well if now is the time.............................

Hi Kelly,

Welcome to the murky theatre of the worlds best rieslings.

I visited J J Prum last week (Ooh I love saying that) and was hosted by Amea Prum. We looked at 08's and 04's from Wehlener Sonnenuhr and Graacher Himmelrich as well as their entry level Kabinett. We then looked at a wine blind, which I thought was open and ready to go. It was an 07 Graacher Himmelreich Auslese.

I suspect all the 07's including the Auslesen will be drinkable now, it was one of many ripe years the Mosel has had since 2000. But they will of course develop and age gracefully for a long long time as David suggests.

Cheers

Andrew

[David M. Bueker]

'07 may be one of those vintages that stays friendly versus closing up like a vault. It's juicier than many other years, and that sheer quantity of flavor might mask any teenage grumpiness the wines could experience.

'07 may be one of those vintages that stays friendly versus closing up like a vault. It's juicier than many other years, and that sheer quantity of flavor might mask any teenage grumpiness the wines could experience.

One of the reasons I decided to participate in this forum was the expertise and interest in Germany, and here it is right here. That's a good way to think about 07, much appreciated David.

While i'm here, is it OK to post a link to a blog (no direct affiliations) where i have written up my notes on the trip - or am I better to paste the text here?

Andrew

[David M. Bueker]

As long as you are willing to discuss the content then paste away! Perhaps provide an intro with a few highlights?

Thanks David - new thread coming soon,

Andrew