Joh Jos Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 2018

Product Information: The 2018 release of Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Gold Kapsel was made from shrivelled instead of botrytised fruit, and was then fermented down to noble-sweet levels of residual sugar. This wine has all the hallmarks of the exceptional Auslese Long Goldkapsel, a rare collectable that will prove irresistible at maturity. Winemaker, Katharina Prüm explains the Goldkapsel wines in this way: “Think of them as limited edition, small production lots of the best Auslese of a vintage. They are made from stronger, selected grapes containing more concentrated juice, usually affected by a certain amount of botrytis. They can age even remarkably longer than ‘basic’ Auslesen, lasting for many decades. Over time, they lose some of their sweetness, gain more and more elegance and harmony, and the complex profile and depth come to the forefront.” Goldkapsel wines can work very well with desserts – ideally fruit-based dishes or crème caramel, typically nothing too sweet or chocolate-based. However, they are again better paired – especially with age – with robust, savoury food and especially cheese. With savoury dishes, you can throw anything at them, even very spicy dishes, red meat. These wines are far more versatile than most dry whites and certainly more so than all red wine styles. Situated in the Mosel wine region, along the Mosel River in Germany. The Wehlener Sonnenuhr vineyard is now synonymous to the name of Joh. Jos. Prüm. The Estate owns healthy five hectares of this majestic site. It offers perfect growing conditions for the Riesling grape with its deep, weather-beaten grey slate soil, good water support, extreme steepness of up to 70 % gradient, and its optimal south-south-west exposure. A fun fact – The two sites Zeltinger Sonnenuhr, Wehlener Sonnenuhr are named after the sundial erected in the vineyard in 1842 by Jodocus Prüm, an ancestor of J.J. Prüm, to give the workers a better time orientation. The wines of the Wehlener Sonnenuhr generally possess excellent structure, show beautiful, ripe aromas and flavours (typically stone fruits, like peach, nectarine, apricot), a fine minerality and great depth and length. Especially after having been aged for some years, the harmony, finesse and expression of these wines are next to none. It is impossible to describe JJ Prüm wines without mentioning the German Pradikatswein Wine Classifications that indicates the ripeness level of the Riesling grapes. Auslese wines are made from grapes that have been handpicked according to their ripeness and level of noble rot. The wines are usually sweet and unctuous with great development potential given time in the cellar. Yet the style remains pure and ultra-fine, and while the Spätlese wines shine with juicy intensity, this bracket offers more power, flesh, complexity and length. To put that into context, the lightest in the German Riesling spectrum is Kabinett (picked at full ripeness), moving on to Spatlese (Late Harvest), Auslese (Select Harvest), Auslese (Select Harvest) Goldkapsel, Auslese (Select Harvest) Lange Goldkapsel, Beerenauslese (Select Berry Harvest), and then the ripest being Trockenbeerenauslese picked as single berries that are almost raisinated by noble rot and selected by hand, further these berries are dried on straw mats further concentrating the sugars and flavour/aroma compounds. 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,