It’s A Miracle!

Here
is a wine full of flavor and elegance, intense, focused,
long in both finish and life span, evoking fruits, flowers,
even minerals, yet amazingly transparent and ethereally
light. No other wine possesses this combination of
qualities, no Riesling grown elsewhere either.

Can we explain?
Is it the slate-rich soil, the vineyards precipitously
sloping down to the river, the south-facing exposure of the
best sites, the cool temperatures at this northerly limit of
vine ripening, the low yields, the tension of the perfect
balance of acid and sugar, the nature of the grape variety
itself, the cool, slow fermentation, the low alcohol
content? It is certainly not any one of these. More likely,
all are needed for optimal results (but oak is not
invited).

The prized soil
here in the prime vineyards of the Middle Mosel and its
tributaries, the Saar and the Ruwer, is composed of layers
of finely decomposed slate laid down 4OO million years ago.
The dark slate surface is thought to reradiate heat to the
vines at night, to hold moisture, and to supply minerals to
the vines clinging to dizzying slopes that must be worked by
hand. A degree of minerality in the wine adds complexity
and, according to Randall Grahm, suppresses too-obvious
fruitiness and provides deep flavor focus. Raimund Prum
distinguishes three different slates, each informed by its
own metal base. Blue slate, based on copper, is found in
several vineyards in Bernkastel, including Lay, which means
“slate.” Prum believes that blue slate creates a full-bodied
mineral taste, with notes of green apple, peach, apricot,
even tropical fruits. Gray slate, based on tin, is found in
Wehlener Sonnenuhr and Graacher Dompropst and Himmelreich.
It creates finesse, elegance, and fragrance, and evokes
green apple, white peach, and pineapple. Wines of both the
blue and gray slates pair well with seafood, white meats,
and Asian food. Red slate, based on iron, and found in
Urziger Wurzgarten and Erdener Teppchen and Pralat, imparts
warmth, smoothness, and softness, especially to wines with
residual sugar. They tend to be lower in acidity, but well
endowed with fruit, and are said to be fit company for
terrines, cheeses, and fruit-based desserts. I’ve also heard
it said that red slate risks imparting some bitterness. I
can’t help wondering whether all this may be too
precious.

My enthusiasm to
write about Mosel Rieslings was stimulated by a recent visit
from Raimund and Saskia Prum. Raimund has owned and managed
the S.A. Prum estate since 1971. Saskia, his daughter, is a
recently qualified winemaker. Raimund’s wife, Erika,
supervises business aspects and hospitality at the guest
house. Second daughter Jennifer is studying business. The
estate’s 4O acres of primarily QmP (Qualitatswein mit
Pradikat, “Quality wine with distinction”), Riesling are in
Bernkastel, Graach, Wehlen, and Zeltingen, of which more
than 25 are in the revered Wehlener Sonnenuhr. The vines are
generally quite old. Prum also makes wine from other grapes
– Pinot Blanc, for example – grown at other sites, but these
need not concern us here. Production totals 42,OOO cases, of
which one-third are estate-grown, estate-bottled QmP
Rieslings, wines we’ll be sampling herein. The winery is in
Wehlen.

The Prum family
has owned vineyards in the area for 85O years, and produced
wine commercially for more than 2OO years. Sebastian Alois
Prum, Raimund’s grandfather, founded the S.A. Prum firm in
1911, when various branches of the family diverged. Familiar
and respected names are related: other Prums, Loosen,
Bergweiler, Weil. An ancestor Jodocus Prum, erected the
famous landmark sundial – sonnenuhr – in 1842.

S.A. Prum is a
founding member of the Association of German Premium
Wineries (VDP), a consortium of top producers probably
established to overcome the inadequacy of Germany’s wine
laws. Some of Prum’s wines have secured certification as
Erste Lage (“First Growth”), Rieslings of high quality of at
least spatlese level, from low yielding top vineyards that
are subject to strict comparative tastings. Initially this
was a category for dry wines, but this is evolving. As we’ll
see from the concluding tasting, the S.A. Prum estate is a
worthy exemplar of the miracle of the Mosel.