JJ PRÜM - Graacher Himmelreich Auslese 2015
JJ Prüm (Joh. Jos. Prüm) is located in the village of Wehlen on the banks of the Moselle in Germany . The Prüm family has been producing wine in the Moselle for several hundred years, but the estate was founded in 1911 by Johann Josef Prüm . The estate was taken over by his brother Sebastian in 1920, the year JJ Prüm created his first sweet wine Auslese, and became one of Germany's best known and most respected wines. Since then, the estate has remained family owned. John. Joe. Prüm has around twenty hectares of vines spread over several Erste Lage vineyards. Almost half of these are in the vineyard of Wehlener Sonnenuhr , who craft a range of styles under the Prädikatswein system, including Auslese, Beerenauslese, Eiswein and Trockenbeerenauslese.
Graacher Himmelreich ("Kingdom of Heaven") is a large 87 hectare vineyard of steep, weathered clay and blue slate. This terroir makes it possible to produce wines that show great minerality and aging capacity.
Auslese is made from grapes that have a must weight of 83-110 Oechsle (the hydrometric scale measuring the density of grape must) which equates to 191-260 g/L of residual sugar, and where the grapes are manually harvested with noble rot.
The 2015 vintage in Germany was fantastic, maybe even legendary. Spring was surprisingly easy, without the usual frosts that can hamper vine growth. The hot, dry days allowed for successful bud break and flowering and the mild conditions continued throughout the summer. However, by August the season had become so hot and dry that drought became a concern. Fortunately, the rains of the previous winter had reconstituted the water reserves in the soil, from which the vines could draw. September also brought some soothing rain, after which the days were mostly warm and sunny with cool nights ideal for the final ripening grapes. The harvest was slightly below normal, but the wines are superb. They are often described as classic in style with pure concentrated fruit and the residual sugars typical of German Riesling found the perfect balance with essential acidity. This vintage offers excellent options for both drinking now and aging further.
Varietal: 100% Riesling
