Winemaker Notes
J.J. Prum Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese is a very pale yellow with pristine expression of fruit. Immediately showing great balance of sweetness and acidity, a bit creamier than the Kabinett, lovely stone fruit, very elegant with that kick from the well known Graacher acidity. Good length with a bright and mouthwatering finish.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This great Spatlese from the Graacher Himmelreich has everything we hope for from this famous site: excellent concentration and delicacy on the barely medium-bodied palate, terrific slatey character and a broad spectrum of aromas that range from white flowers and peaches to blackcurrants. Super-stony and precise finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 Graacher Himmelreich Spätlese is very intense and open on the complex and saline nose that is reminiscent of crushed slate rocks as well as ripe and intense, dense citrus fruit intermingled with lemon aromas. Round and refined on the palate, this is a lively and savory Riesling with a firm, mineral structure and floral flavors on the complex and youthful finish. This is a Spätlese to be aged for at least 5+ years. 8% stated alcohol. Natural cork.
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Vinous
The 2023 Riesling Graacher Himmelreich Spätlese offers a yeasty aroma with a hint of flint and a slight touch of mint. The palate showcases pure Mirabelle and gentle sweetness, with exquisite delineation and a supple sweetness highlighted by an exquisitely pure lemon tone.
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Wine Spectator
A smoky mineral layer hovers in the backdrop of this streamlined, concentrated Riesling, with beautiful clarity and range to its notes of lime oil, peach and green herbs. Flinty and sultry through the long finish, which features some phenolic extract for a dry impression.
Riesling possesses a remarkable ability to reflect the character of wherever it is grown while still maintaining its identity. A regal variety of incredible purity and precision, this versatile grape can be just as enjoyable dry or sweet, young or old, still or sparkling and can age longer than nearly any other white variety. Somm Secret—Given how difficult it is to discern the level of sweetness in a Riesling from the label, here are some clues to find the dry ones. First, look for the world “trocken.” (“Halbtrocken” or “feinherb” mean off-dry.) Also a higher abv usually indicates a drier Riesling.
Following the Mosel River as it slithers and weaves dramatically through the Eifel Mountains in Germany’s far west, the Mosel wine region is considered by many as the source of the world’s finest and longest-lived Rieslings.
Mosel’s unique and unsurpassed combination of geography, geology and climate all combine together to make this true. Many of the Mosel’s best vineyard sites are on the steep south or southwest facing slopes, where vines receive up to ten times more sunlight, a very desirable condition in this cold climate region. Given how many twists and turns the Mosel River makes, it is not had to find a vineyard with this exposure. In fact, the Mosel’s breathtakingly steep slopes of rocky, slate-based soils straddle the riverbanks along its entire length. These rocky slate soils, as well as the river, retain and reflect heat back to the vineyards, a phenomenon that aids in the complete ripening of its grapes.
Riesling is by far the most important and prestigious grape of the Mosel, grown on approximately 60% of the region’s vineyard land—typically on the desirable sites that provide the best combination of sunlight, soil type and altitude. The best Mosel Rieslings—dry or sweet—express marked acidity, low alcohol, great purity and intensity with aromas and flavors of wet slate, citrus and stone fruit. With age, the wine’s color will become more golden and pleasing aromas of honey, dried apricot and sometimes petrol develop.
Other varieties planted in the Mosel include Müller-Thurgau, Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) and Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc), all performing quite well here.