Winemaker Notes
The grapes of this Auslese gold cap are selected during harvest and contain a certain amount of botrytis, resulting in a higher concentration of the grape juice. It is a "limited edition" and shows itself silky, harmonious and refined, with apricot, apple, lime and mineral aromas and flavours on a light-weight frame. Balanced, its hidden structure is evident in the tanginess on the finish and lingering aftertaste of baked apple.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Explosively fruity, rich and opulent, with loads of baked peach, apricot and pear flavors that are overlaid with concentrated notes of apple butter and spice. The long finish is filled with toffee and cream. Best from 2014 through 2038.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Prums' 2009 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese gold capsule A.P. # 23 auction lot is scented with singed pineapple, butterscotch, apple jelly, honey, and a radish-like prickle, all of which pour themselves onto a creamy yet subtly nippy palate of imposing richness, if for now neither the elegance nor sheer buoyancy that accrued to some of the other best wines in the present collection. The torrified, butterscotch element dominates at least for now in an overtly sweet, strikingly long finish, but one lacking in primary juiciness or vivacity. Could this simply need more time to recover from bottling? 92+ Points
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.