Joh. Jos. Prum Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese 2021

Zeltinger Sonnenuhr sits at the northernmost edge of the Prüm holdings — the vineyard directly borders the northern edge of the Wehlener Sonnenuhr, both sites named after the sundials that sit amongst the vines and are clearly visible from the other side of the river. Zeltinger Sonnenuhr shares a similar exposure and steepness with its neighbour, but has less topsoil, with roots hitting firm slate rock almost immediately — meaning the vines struggle more to find water, which affects yields and the character of the fruit. Prüm's parcel comes from a patch of 60 to 70-year-old vines around the sundial itself, and the wines can be very complex, with earthy, rocky and smoky notes. In comparison to the neighbouring Wehlener Sonnenuhr, the very stony, mostly quite light blue Devonian slate soil here is extremely shallow — leading to wines of a special breed and distinctive minerality. 

For centuries the Prüm family has called the village of Wehlen home, with the harvest at J.J. Prüm always extremely late, producing wines that are very long-lived. At the Auslese level, this shallow-soil intensity translates into a wine of real depth and concentration — expect ripe stone fruit, honeyed botrytis-edged richness, smoke and slate minerality, all carried by Prüm's signature high acidity that keeps the sweetness in perfect balance rather than ever feeling heavy. The wines have both delicacy and charm, with the variety's filigree texture and crisp, precise fruit shining through even at this riper level of ripeness. Cellar with confidence — Auslese from this estate routinely rewards twenty years or more of patient ageing, gaining honeyed complexity while never losing the mineral backbone that defines the site.