Product Description:
Slate, stone fruit, and staggering longevity in magnum. This 1.5L release of Joh. Jos. Prüm’s 2023 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese captures the essence of Mosel Riesling at scale. Grown on impossibly steep slopes laced with Devonian slate, this is the vineyard most closely associated with the Prüm name—defining not just a producer, but an entire style. The site’s name, meaning "sundial," was coined in 1842 by Jodocus Prüm, and today it remains the benchmark for age-worthy Spätlese.
The 2023 vintage is all nuance and structure. A little more reserved than its Graacher sibling in youth, it nonetheless shows flashes of yellow fruit, wet flint, lemongrass, and anise. The balance between delicacy and depth is pitch-perfect, making it both captivating now and destined for long cellar life. In magnum, this bottle will evolve with even greater harmony over decades.
A wine for collectors, celebrations, or simply those who understand that Riesling—when grown and made like this—is without peer.
The Maker
The Prüm family story in the Mosel dates back to 1156, beginning with was Johann Josef Prüm (1873 - 1944) who founded the estate in 1911. By the mid-1930s Johann Josef’s son, Sebastian, forged the distinctive style of the Prüm wines. From 1969, the imitable Dr Manfred Prüm would elevate Joh. Jos. Prüm to even greater heights, today the estate is run by Manfred’s daughter Katharina Prüm who watches over 13.5 hectares of vines on the harrowing slate-rich slopes of the Middle Mosel. In The Wines of Germany, Stephen Brook writes “With the rise of so many excellent winemakers in the Mosel, one might have supposed that Joh. Jos. Prüm, with its profound conservatism, might have been overtaken and left behind. Not a bit of it. The Estate remains where it has been for decades: at the summit.” Which begs the question, what is the secret to J.J. Prüm's continued success? How do they stand out among top Mosel producers? It’s all about their exceptional vineyards: old vines at great sites, keeping the lowest yields, daring but calculated late harvesting, and a careful selection of the finest berries.
Joh. Jos. Prüm's vineyards are at forefront of the estate's success. Their holdings include vineyards - Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Graacher Himmelreich, Bernkasteler Lay, Bernkasteler Badstube and Zeltinger Sonnenuhr. All of these sites are exclusively dedicated to growing and harvesting Riesling grapes for Joh. Jos. Depending on the specific vintage, the average annual production of wine is typically between 10,000 to 13,000 cases.
The Vineyard
Prum’s four key vineyards are all located on the same continuous slope, all on a mixture of grey and blue Devonian slate soils with varying south-to-south westerly aspects. Positioned in the heart of Mosel the vineyards are named from south to north: Bernkasteler Badstube, Graacher Himmelreich, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, and Zeltinger Sonnenuhr. These vineyards have been in continuous production for some 2000 years.
The major differences between the sites have to do with the variation in the aspect (from south to southwest) and the steepness and the depth of the soil. These are subtle differences, but make for wonderfully distinctive wines. Of course all the vineyards of J.J. Prüm are renowned, but the majestic Wehlener Sonnenuhr vineyard that is the most famous. The revered site lies opposite the village of Wehlen and the Estate owns seven hectares—largely planted to ungrafted wines—which has very thin topsoil over Devonian slate (in some areas of the vineyard the plants grow out of pure rock!). Wehlener Sonnenuhr has the highest pure stone content of all the Prüm vineyards, and along with neighbouring Zeltinger, the steepest of Prüm’s vineyards—with a dizzying 65-70% gradient in places. Wine writer Stuart Pigott summarises perfectly, “In top vintages the Wehlener Sonnenuhr yields the richest, silkiest, most seductive wines on the Mosel. The fame of these Rieslings is inextricably linked with that of the Joh Jos Prüm estate.”
Tasting Notes
NOSE
– Yellow fruit and flint
Stone fruit, firecracker slate, lemongrass, and hints of fennel pollen.
PALATE
– Juicy and crystalline
Fine-boned structure with brilliant acidity, citrus tension, and cool minerality.
FINISH
– Long and shimmering
Lithe sweetness lingers through a salty, stony close that begs for another sip.
Reviews & Accolades
The white peach fruit, white flower aromas and slatey minerality all tingle on your palate, then flicker on and on in a totally fascinating manner in the nearly endless finish... a masterpiece like this takes on a totally distinctive feeling unlike anything else on Planet Wine. – James Suckling, 97 Points
The 2023 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spätlese is concentrated and very intense on the fruit-driven, deep and spicy nose... elegant and refined on the dense and seriously structured, salivating palate that is a promise for the future. – Robert Parker, Wine Advocate, 95+ Points
Exquisitely fine and very bright, luminous even, soaring upward as it reaches down into the slate, embodying the total elegance of the site. Slenderness and serenity are exemplary. – Antonio Galloni, Vinous, 96 Points
So saftig, mitreißend, filigran und mundfüllend zugleich. Ein Hochgenuss in allen Facetten... Wenn Spätlesen jedes Jahr so schmecken würden, die Leute würden ja nichts mehr anderes trinken wollen. – Heiner Lobenberg, 96–98 Points
Finer Details:
Style - White Wine
Varietal - Riesling
Country - Germany
Region - Mosel
Vintage - 2023
Bottle Size - 1.5L
ABV - 8%
Closure - Cork
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