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2014 Joh. Jos. Prüm
Chicago, IL
Tasted March 29, 2016 by acyso with 967 views
Introduction
All in all, the 2014 lineup of Prüm wines was slightly underwhelming with respect to the estate. The wines, while excellent in and of themselves, are not the best examples that have been made. In several wines, including the Wehlener Sonnenuhrs, some unripe elements can be detected. The acidity is pronounced and the sugar levels represent somewhat of a dialing back of the Prädikat creep that has been steadily ongoing. I would consider the Bernkasteler Badstube and Zeltinger Sonnenuhr wines triageable this vintage, and would also make the bold (according to Salil) call that Graacher Himmelreich came out of this vintage much better than Wehlener Sonnenuhr. That said, the Himmelreich has always showed better young than the Wehlener Sonnenuhr.
The wines were opened about an hour before dinner -- the persistent rumours of Prüm sulphur being a thing have once again been proven to be nothing but an old myth repeated over and over again by those who drink Kool-aid rather than wine. I still believe Prüm to be one of the producers that benefit the most from long aging (a 1973 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett drank a few months ago was a strong case in point).
Flight 1 (10 notes)
White
2014 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett
85 points
#08-15, 8% abv. This is a pretty angular example of Kabinett. White fruited, with screaming acidity, and feinherb-like sweetness. Quite light in texture, there's almost a bit too much tartness from the acidity on the palate and this is one of the rare Prüm bottles that actually feels slightly out of balance from the acidity. Surprisingly, there's also a touch of heat on the back end.
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Comment
White
2014 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett
90 points
#07-15, 8% abv. The WS Kabinett is a much more well-rounded and complete bottle of riesling in comparison to the pointy and somewhat ornery GH. This has an alluring scent of marzipan on the nose, while the palate features a lot of restrained white fruit. Again not too sweet, this is along the lines of what I imagine modern feinherb to be (all this said, my palate is geared towards the sweeter side of things). The heat and angular acid doesn't stick out as much here, and that definitely makes for a much better wine.
White - Off-dry
2014 Joh. Jos. Prüm Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Spätlese
88 points
#14-15, 8% abv. The nose here shows a lot of floral quality, as well as a fair bit of sponti. The palate is perhaps the roundest and fattest of the four Spätlesen. Don't get me wrong though, there's more than enough green apple acidity to go around here. At the same time, despite that rounder texture, I found this to be not particularly concentrated or dense in terms of material -- I'm thinking the roundness comes from a touch more sugar and ripeness.
White - Off-dry
2014 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spätlese
93 points
#21-15, 7% abv. Easily my favourite of the Spätlesen. This had everything in good balance. There's a little bit of pineapple Gummibärchen here on the nose. This shows a touch more ripeness than the BB Spätlese on the palate, but with a lot more added complexity from a tinge of fresh green herbs. The acidity here feels a lot more integrated and less "tacked onto" the wine than the BB, and I prefer this to the WS for the added herbal elements.
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Comments (3)
White - Off-dry
2014 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese
90 points
#09-15, 7.5% abv. Perhaps keeping in line with my past experiences with Prüm, young WS never shows quite as well as young GH. This is a little bit reticent at this point in time with mostly a nice touch of sweet yellow fruit at this point. This is just as rounded as the GH, but not showing so many of the interesting compelling elements of the GH -- it's not as mineral, not as herbal. That's not to say that this isn't good, but they're just not showing as prominently at this point in time. On the other hand, this does seem to have a bit more power than the GH, so who knows, this might be the better wine in the long term.
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Comment
White - Off-dry
2014 Joh. Jos. Prüm Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese
88 points
#16-15, 7.5% abv. The nose is quite perfumed, but the palate is simply not too concentrated and compelling. There's some nice white fruit on the palate, as well as good acidity, but apart from that, this is a relatively simplistic, if well-executed bottle of Spätlese. Nothing too exciting here.
White - Off-dry
2014 Joh. Jos. Prüm Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Auslese
88 points
#15-15, 8% abv. A surprisingly high amount of greenness permeates this wine. I'm almost of the belief that this is a tad underripe. Given the sweetness levels, this could easily pass for a Spätlese from a riper year (what with Prädikat-creep and all that). There's not much particularly interesting going on with the palate either, as if the grapes weren't quite able to develop much more than the basics.
White - Off-dry
2014 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese
90 points
#20-15, 7% abv. There's something again here that just pokes at your brain and won't let go... it's a bit of an unripe character that you can find in the greenness here. It's not just the green apple green, but there's a slight bit of vegetation that just won't just go away. There's sweet yellow fruit (that's not totally ripe) and great acid. The minerality here seems a bit subdued compared to the more overt GH. Indeed, this is a technically competent and enjoyable bottle of Auslese, but it's just not at the same level as the GH.
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Comment
White - Off-dry
2014 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese
93 points
#17-15, 7% abv. The GH is a significant step up from the BB in terms of quality (and a step up from the WS too). Slatey, powerful, and rich, with lots of stuffing (though nary a hint of botrytis). This is the most complete of the three Auslesen. This is certainly not too sweet, though the sugar levels are comfortably in Auslese range here. I love the overt minerality and bold expressiveness of this wine.
White - Off-dry
2014 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel
93 points
#18-15, 7% abv. Botrytis! Finally! There's a lovely and absolutely alluring honeyed spice quality to this wine, which, coupled with the high acidity and light fruit flavours gives this a particularly distinctive profile. It's pretty much the same wine as the GH Auslese, but with a richer, even denser profile, and a touch of botrytis thrown in. Quite compelling in its own right, and a different beast altogether, but just as exciting.