2006 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese

The Prum 2006 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese A.P. #19 that was destined for acution was a bit reticent in the nose, but gradually opened up to reveal classic apple, vanilla. lily, honeysuckle, and a more musky floral note as well. Uncanny in its combination of creaminess of texture with almost weightless delicacy, this picks up additional flavors of musk melon and honey, and finishes with ravishing persistence and refinement. Drinking this seems like taking a perfumed breath. No doubt one can cellar this for at least 30 years. (For an explanation of Prum bottling practice and the significance of multiple A.P.#s under which certain wines are bottled, please consult issue 169.) The Prums picked Wehlen and Zeltingen first, while the Graacher Himmelreich resisted botrytis to a greater degree, and by the time they came to Bernkastel (shades of the scenario at Selbach) botrytis was so advanced that they ended up vinifying their first-ever Beerenauslese from those sites. “From the standpoint of quantity, it was a catastrophe,” says Manfred Prum, but he judges this likely the greatest vintage of his lifetime, yet also as a vintage that is open and accessible early. I therefore had the opportunity to taste a wider range of young nobly sweet wines here than normal, although I was not able to re-taste them after bottling. There is in fact very little to taste at this estate from 2006 other than nobly sweet wine. Miniscule amounts of “normal” Spatlese (which I did not taste) were bottled from the Himmelreich and Sonnenuhr. Various importers including: P. J. Valckenberg International, Tulsa, OK; tel. (918) 622-0424 and Rudi Wiest, Cellars International, Carlsbad, CA; tel. (800) 596-9463