J.J. Prüm is one of my perennial favorite producers of German Riesling.   I recently had a chance to taste through many of Prüm’s 2007 Riesling’s with Katharina Prüm.   Katharina was very friendly and obviously passionate about her family business.  She actually studied law in England following undergraduate in Germany before she decided to return to get her hands dirty in just about every aspect of the vineyard and winery.  If you aren’t familliar with J.J. Prüm, they are widely regarded as a premier producer of Riesling.

We tasted a lineup of 2007 Prüm wines.  2007 was one of the earliest bud breaks ever recorded in the 22 hectares of the Prüm estate;  flowering began in early May.  The growing season was long, with harvest beginning in October and finishing up in November (unlike ’06 when it was a smaller, boytritis effected vintage that harvested in 3 weeks).  Overall, if I had to sum up the vintage in one word it would be “balance.”  These wines were very balanced with great underlying minerality and elegance.  I really appreciated that across the board the sweetness was in check, even less than one would expect in an Auslese.

Of the seven wines tasted, my two favorites were the 2007 Graacher Himmelreich, which showed fantastic structure, balance and fruit flavors.  And the 2007 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese, which had just enough sweetness on the finish to accent the floral notes and balance the acidity and minearlity.

2007 Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Kabinett:  Very straightforward wine with noticeable citrus and apple fruit, a bit softer on the palate than expected, floral notes and good acidity on the finish.  My rating:  88 pts

2007 Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Kabinett Graacher Himmelreich:  Good balance of fruit and minerality, with again citrus and slate with a nice crispness to it.  Fresh, very nice.  My rating:  90 pts

2007 Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Kabinett Wehlener Sonnenuhr:  More fruit is available on the palate with apple, puckering citrus, good aciity, and again fantastic balance.  There is a touch of sweetness on the finish that is very appealing with the acidity and slate.  Very nicely done.  My rating:  90 pts

2007 Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Spatlese Graacher Himmelreich:  Tight nose with some citrus and green apple.  On the palate the wine offers apricot, good acidity, a strong backbone of mineralty and very subtle sweetness in the form of tropical fruits.  Great finish with almost perfect balance- very food friendly wine.  My rating:  91 pts

2007 Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Spatlese Wehlener Sonnenuhr:   More floral and generous nose.  On the palate, a touch more sweet on the palate than the Graacher Himmelreich but not cloying or overripe.  Again here, the minerality and citrus notes keep it in check, with a pleasant mouthfeel and long finish.   My rating:  92 pts

2007 Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Auslese Graacher Himmelreich:  A bit more strucutred than the Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese, this wine is more aromatic than the Spatlese and Kabinett siblings.  The fruit is rather tight on the palate, but again the balance of acidity, minerality, sweetness and finesse is really fantastic.  My rating:  93 pts

2007 Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Auslese Wehlener Sonnenuhr:  Really tight, bright acidity with a strong minerality backbone.  My rating:  93 pts