Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Hunkered down into itself, this feels compact and firm, the combination of super ripe green fruits dovetailing perfectly with earthy soil notes. A smoky note pervades the wine, complemented by a crisp herbal note that brings freshness to it. It feels like it could last a few decades, slowly giving more with each year.
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Wine Spectator
Very creamy, rich and elegant, with luscious peach, apple compote and lemon cake flavors that feature hints of chamomile. Everything is in proportion, with notes of Key lime pie on the ethereal finish. Drink now through 2040.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A Prum 2010 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese A.P. #17 allies ennobled richness of vanilla- and honey-tinged apple and alluring creaminess of texture to juicy vivacity of citrus; low alcohol levity; and transparency to nuances of honeysuckle and heliotrope perfume, crushed stone and brown spices. The palpably high extract here and hint of chewy fruit skin do not detract from an overriding sense of polish and buoyancy. While its at once soothing and stimulating long finish is ravishingly long, it will take time for this Auslese to reveal what is probably an advantage in nascent, nuanced complexity vis-a-vis the corresponding Bernkasteler. Time will as always be on its side, and I would not recommend seriously tucking into bottles of this for at least 12-15 years, with expectations for it to hit age 40 acting youthful. (I did not have opportunity to taste a corresponding auction cuvee, A.P. #27.)
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.