2017 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese
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Tasting notes
Dusty and yeasty notes do not interfere significantly with a transmission of fresh but ultra-concentrated pear and quince, laced with heliotrope and honeysuckle. A welcome influx of grapefruit serves for brightness and zest on an otherwise creamy as well as delicate palate, leading to a finish impeccably balanced in sweetness and vibrantly as well as lusciously persistent. (There is also an auctioned bottling of Sonnenuhr Auslese – A.P. #20 – which I have not tasted.)
Critic scores
Average Score
Tamlyn Currin, jancisrobinson.com
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
This one is all about the focused green fruit and bright spices â think green paprika, Granny Smith apples, kiwi fruit, green pears and kale. The fruit is cast long and deeply set, despite the agility and leanness of the palate, which is only medium-bodied and off-dry. Tense and expectant with miles of life ahead. Drink in a very long time indeed.
Fermented in stainless steel due to small quantities, the 2017 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spätlese Trocken opens with a very clear and concentrated yet botrytis-free nose. Dense, intense and spicy, this is a concentrated, creamy-textured and slatey-flavored Riesling with a compact mineral structure and a long, powerful and concentrated finish. Tasted in June 2019.
The 2017 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spätlese is impressively deep, dense and expressive on the nose that is more mineral rather than fruity. On the palate, this is a lush, tensioned, very precise, elegant, sharply defined and complex Riesling. It's not as exuberant as the Sonnenuhr can be, but it represents more of the gray/blue slate soil. The finish is really lush, perfectly concentrated and salty. This is a great Prüm icon Spätlese. Tasted in March 2019.
About the producer
Joh. Jos. Prüm is the benchmark estate of the Middle Mosel, renowned for Rieslings of exceptional delicacy, precision, and longevity. From the legendary slopes of Wehlener Sonnenuhr to Graacher Himmelreich, their wines capture a singular balance of lightness, tension and mineral purity.