Prüm: An odyssey

In the pantheon of German riesling producers, J.J. Prüm occupies a position very close to the top. The wines can be difficult to taste in their youth for a couple of reasons: first, they are quite heavily sulfured at bottling which results in a sometimes over-powering aroma of burnt match; second, the style is one of elegance and subtlety rather than sheer power or opulence. Nonetheless, the wines can be quite rewarding young if given enough time to open and approached with an open mind. What follows is an experience with a bottle of 2007 J.J. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese over four days; think of it as a blog-within-a-blog.

Day 1

The nose is completely dominated by sulfur. The palate is sheer elegance, with the sweetness completely in balance. The flavor profile is classic Mosel apple with just a hint of botrytis, not really showing any complexity at the moment. There's a wonderfully savory sense of minerality that comes out in the midpalate.

Day 2

A day in the fridge, and the fruit has really blossomed, acquiring spicy, tropical nuances of melon, pineapple, mango skin, and all sorts of other things. While this might sound heavy or cloying, it's carried along by a wonderfully succulent sense of acidity. Just really beautiful stuff.

Day 3

No note

Day 4

Finally the sulfur lifts from the nose, revealing a reserved, delicate, multi-dimensional florality. The fruit is not quite as flamboyant as before, but the minerality now comes to the fore, giving the wine a real solidity in the mouth. From day to day, as the wine reveals its different facets, one thing that remains constant is the impeccable sense of balance.

Posted at 11:16 on Sun, 19 Feb 2012 in category wine | Comments (0)