2014 - Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett, Joh. Jos. Prum

The 2014 Riesling Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett is more open than the Graacher Himmelreich (#AP 19) and displays a very delicate bouquet of white fruits intermixed with vegetal and subtle slate aromas. Refined and juicy on the palate, this wine has a perfect balance of a fruity sweetness and a finely racy acidity. This Kabinett is very expressive and complex in its mineral and grippy finish. It is impressively long in the finish, but due to the piquancy and minerality, not due to alcohol that is just 8%. The Sonnenuhr is more complex and intense than the more delicate and filigreed Himmelreich.

This follows a familiar pattern of Wehlener Sonnenuhr being slower to reveal its personality than the Prüm bottlings from other sites. A whiff of cheese rind and yeast only partly blows off, but beneath are generous, site-typical apple, vanilla, honeysuckle and heliotrope. Alkaline and wet stone notes along with hints of apple seeds and lime peel lend intrigue and piquant counterpoint on a polished, buoyant, subtly creamy palate and on the lingering finish that follows.

From magnum. Gently smoky but that Prüm hallmark now starting to diminish. Tight, fresh and herbal on the palate. On the lighter side but with great persistence and already showing some complexity as well as the delicate balance of Kabinett. (JH)