Joh. Jos. Prüm
Wehlen, Mosel, Germany
“To drink a Riesling from Joh Jos Prüm is to enjoy a springtime of the heart and mind.” -Stephan Rheinhardt - The Finest Wine of Germany
“One of the two or three most famous producers in Germany, along with Egon Müller and Maximin Grünhaus and produces some of the finest wines in the region.” - Lars Carlberg, larscarlberg.com
"Few estates in the world can claim to have maintained the highest quality standards uninterrupted for half a century and more. Joh Jos Prüm, the most famous of the many Mosel wine estates bearing the Prüm name, is one estate that can. -Stuart Pigott, The Wine Atlas of Germany
Joh. Jos. Prüm needs no introduction to Riesling lovers, having already become a Mosel icon during the nearly five decades during which its namesake’s son Sebastien was in charge. Katharina Prüm has been active alongside her father, Manfred, since early in the new millennium, and the two of them perpetuate a house style that has itself become a Mosel archetype: wines of delicacy and restrained sweetness, often strongly marked in youth by yeasty and otherwise fermentative aromas, and tingling with dissolved CO2.
Their longevity is legendary, and the Prüms personally don’t care to drink their own wines – even the Kabinetts – with less than a dozen, and usually many more, years in bottle. The aromas of youthful Prüm wines make it obvious that fermentation here is entirely spontaneous. Manfred makes no secret of his longstanding disinterest in legally dry wines. These are uncompromising, benchmark Mosel wines.
Our Selections
Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr
The Wehlener Sonnenuhr vineyard has become intrinsically attached to the name of Joh. Jos. Prüm. The Estate owns 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. Wehlener Sonnenuhr is 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 possess excellent structure, show beautiful, ripe aromas and flavors (typically stone fruits), a fine minerality, and great depth and length. After having been aged for some years, the harmony, finesse and expression of these wines is unique. Stuart Pigott writes “Joh Jos Prüm’s Sonnenuhrs are classic examples of the way in which the best Mosel wine’s natural sweetness magnifies, rather than obscures, their character.”
We carry a range of vintages and prädikats from Wehlener Sonnenuhr. Please contact us for current inventory.
Prüm Graacher Himmelreich
Graacher Himmelreich directly borders the southern edge of the Wehlener Sonnenuhr vineyard. The wines from this site often rival the quality of those from its more famous neighbor, especially in hot, dry years. Graacher wines attract with their racy acidity, a pronounced minerality (that reminds of crushed rock) and slightly different fruit aromas and flavors (more citrus). Often, the wines become accessible slightly earlier than the Wehlener Sonnenuhr and are deliciously mouth-watering when young. The vineyard has a south-west exposure and it is a little less steep with deeper soils that act as excellent water reservoirs.
We carry a range of vintages and prädikats from Graacher Himmelreich. Please contact us for current inventory.
Prüm Bernkasteler Badstube
The Bernkasteler Badstube vineyard borders those of the Graacher Himmelreich on the latter’s southern edge. The slopes are on a marginally shallower gradient, with deeper soils than the Graacher and Wehlener, while the western orientation allows the vines longer exposure to the afternoon sun. The Badstube typically produces a wonderfully floral, delicate and mineral wine. Overall, the wines are usually slightly more delicate in structure and weight when compared with the wines of Graacher or Wehlener, but they are wonderfully racy and fine examples of the middle Mosel.
We carry a range of vintages and prädikats from Bernkasteler Badstube. Please contact us for current inventory.
Prüm Zeltinger Sonnenuhr
The Zeltinger Sonnenuhr vineyard in the most northernly site and directly borders the northern edge of the Wehlener Sonnenuhr. Both sites are named after the sundials (Sonnenuhr) that sit amongst the vines and that are clearly visible from the other side of the river. The Zeltinger Sonnenuhr has a similar sun exposition and steepness to its neighbor, but there is less top soil and the roots hit on the firm slate rock almost immediately. This means the vines have more trouble finding water which affects yields and the characteristics of the vines. Prüm’s parcel comes from a patch of 60-70 year old vines around the sundial. The wines can be very complex, with earthy, rocky and smoky notes. They can have a certain dense quality and their acidity often is lower. They perhaps do not achieve the same finesse as the wines from the Wehlener Sonnenuhr, but they are probably more complex and can deliver wonderful, mouth-filling pleasure nonetheless.
We carry a small range of vintages and prädikats from Bernkasteler Badstube. Please contact us for current inventory.
Prüm Bernkasteler Lay
Bernkasteler Lay (pronounced LIE — an old dialect word for “slate”) lies to the north of the village of Bernkastel. This west by southwest facing vineyard is on a 50% grade and consists, as the name suggests, of medium-deep, stony, blue-weathered slate which is heavier and deeper than in the neighboring villages of Wehlen and Graach. This extraordinary vineyard produces richly textured, assertive wines.
Contact us regarding availability of a limited range of Auslesen and Eiswein from Benkasteler Lay.