Raimond Prüm is so keen on his premium wines being drunk when they should be, that he holds back a third of all production for 10 years before releasing them.
When Raimond Prüm hands over the complete reins of his winery S.A.Prüm to his daughter Saskia later this year, it will mark the end of a little piece of Mosel history.
Raimond Prüm at the Davy’s tasting masterclass
For 46 years Raimond has run the estate that was founded over 200 years ago by Sebastian Alwes Prüm and overseen both its expansion and consolidation of reputation. In all this time Saskia will be the first woman to run the winery.
I didn’t get the impression, however, that he’s the sort of man who will make a great ‘back seat driver’ and a number of policies, such as releasing the wines when mature, look like being part of the ongoing landscape.
“The work of my grandfather, a lot of his work which is still valued was why do we need to release the wines too early? Some people might release a wine when it’s not quite ready but I say ‘wait!’ this is a foolish game. These wines are still youngsters.”
Although Prüm does release new vintages he also holds back a third of output for release roughly 10 years later. In order to get around the conundrum of cash flow, Prüm produces some 2.5 million bottles of everyday wines.
“Yes, we need the cash flow of course but I say let’s use Solitare and Essence of which we produce two and a half million bottles. Then we can give the other wines the time… this is a good solution.”
Time is of the essence at S.A. Prüm in more ways than one.
The old sun dial in the Sonnenhur vineyard. Surrounding vines are 120 years old.
Since 1842 Prüm has been the owner of the iconic sun dial in the Sonnenuhr vineyard. Around this landmark is a plot that is half a hectare and has vines over 120 years old. The wines from this plot are for personal consumption.
When he talks about opening older vintages for vertical tastings he’s talking about bottles of Auslese from 1917. This tasting involved six bottles, one was leaking one was corked but the four others were apparently drinking beautifully.
A tasting of 1911 wines, the year that J.J. Prüm left the family business to set up on his own, was conducted to show the difference of re-corking. One of J.J.’s brothers had done it and, according to Raimond “This convinced me to never re-cork old vintages like this. There is too much mould around the cork and re-corking will kill the wine.”
The six wines that Raimond had brought to the Davy’s tasting were all interesting in different ways.
Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling ‘Devon’ Kabinett Trocken, 2008
This showed off the raciness and tension of the 2008 vintage. Classic stone fruit on the nose, youthful palate. Amazingly fresh. This from 80 year old vines on grey slate, fermented with natural yeast, a year on the lees then two years in 60 year-old 1000l barrels. (£19.50 ex VAT)
Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling ‘Devon’ Großes Gewächs, 2010
Deeper golden colour (from oak oxidation), much richer on the nose with a sweet and honeyed depth of flavour. The backbone was very dry and makes a good pairing with red meat (as opposed to white), game, and strong flavoured fish – halibut, swordfish, tuna. (£26.17 ex VAT)
Bernkastelar Lay Riesling Kabinett, 2010
This was picked as a Großes Gewächs but because of complications in the fermentation had to be down-graded to a Kabinett. As such, this is fantastic quality for the price. It’s very rich and fruity, like liquid apple pie and cream, and there’s still enough acidity holding it all together. “I lose money every day on his wine!” Raimond says. (£13.17 ex VAT)
Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese, 2011
“At 7 or 8% ABV this is the wine that I can have after Sunday morning breakfast and have a great day for the rest of the day,” says Raimond. Didn’t blow me away. (£17.83 ex VAT)
Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Faßs 12, 1999
Not sure what was happening here, the palate was rich and honeyed but the nose had a chemical edge. Bottle variation perhaps? (£21.98 ex VAT 37.5cl)
Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Beernauslese Faß 41, 2003
This was an astonishing wine. Not everyone on the Mosel made great wine in the heat of 2003 because they picked too early. But this has such huge concentration from the wine being made from sundried raisins rather than botrytis. The nose is ripe apricots, the palate is honey, tropical fruit, pineapple. It reminded me of a New World late harvested Muscat. Sensual and utterly delicious. (£118 ex VAT 37.5cl)
TOP TIP: If I was buying one wine it would be the Bernkastelar Lay Riesling Kabinett, 2010. Superb quality for the price and a very individual wine with a real story behind it.
