I have pretty much no experience with '03 Germans. I visited the Mosel that September and was told the heat wave that summer hadn’t hit as hard there as it had in France or Italy. Going into the harvest time, the landscape was green relative to what I’d seen in England and Eastern France in the 10 days before that. But no one talked up the '03s when they were bottled the next year, and I never bothered to try them.
This was served blindly tonight. First impression on the nose: some ripe pineapple and cinnamon – enough that several people guessed this was a Rheingau. The consensus was riesling, but from where? Very pale color, and relatively light in body. On the mouth, flabby ripe pineapple and a bit of cinnamon. Where’s the acid? My kingdom for some acid backbone!
This was like Liebfraumilch. Or maybe a third-rate Spatlese or ripe Kabinett. I was shocked when it was unveiled. Sure, Prums can seem quite two-dimensional and simple when young. Sometimes they even hide their concentration. But this is 14 years after the harvest. There’s no concentration, no botrytis, just sugar, no complexity.
AP2-576-511-3-05. I gave it 79 points, but it was basically pointless.
With the caveat that I was not terribly enthusiastic about the 2003s at release, I think it is too soon to know for sure what will come of them.
Prum in particular I find to go very light and simple in their “dumb phase”, and in 2003 there is a whole lot of sweetness that needs time to resolve.
I am not in it for the long haul on 2003 Mosel Riesling, but if I were- I would be prepared to wait another 10 years or so to really see what could come of a top Auslese like this.
I’ve found it helpful to avoid sweeping statements when it comes to wine…but that being said, I don’t have a wine from 2003 in my cellar from anywhere. I’ve had good wines from this vintage in the past…but not enough that I’m interested in “seeing where it goes with the 2003 vintage”. The 2003 Leoville Barton comes to mind. The last time I had a bottle of that it was beautifully balanced, built to age further, and a lovely wine…but damn it was hot that year. So why risk it?
I had one of the 2003 Prum Auslesen (Badstube maybe…) last fall, and it was on a typical Prum path. I have not had the Wehlener since 2005, but I doubt it’s anything other than typical Prum.
I have a 2003 Prum Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Auslese in the queue, but won’t get to it for a few weeks.
John: I haven’t had the Auslese, but I’ve had three bottles of the JJ Prum WS Spatlese in the last few months and they were all delicious, with plenty of acid backbone. And yes, I said three bottles. Found one at retail, had it with Thanksgiving, and it was so good I went back for the other two on the shelf and brought them to Xmas dinner. I don’t have a ton of experience with the 03s (or all that many middle aged Rieslings) since I’m only into Riesling over the past couple years, but the acid was there for sure and these were good bottles.
I know that. I had a Prum WS from the mid-90s last year (can’t remember the year or pradikat) that was still light in color and not giving much. And I’ve often found that, when young, they can show poorly in blind tastings, appearing simple. I can’t think of another producer whose wines can be so deceptive for so long. But this was an extreme case. The lack of any apparent structure – acid, botrytis – and no complexity was just weird.
I hope you’re right. Or I would if I owned any. Happily, I don’t.
Specifically on the '03s? I remember tasting the '99s at the VdP tasting in 2000 and saying to him that they seemed a tad low in acid. He said it was there, just masked by the sweetness. But with the '99s, the concentration was evident from the outset.
Yes the Prum’s are keen on the sweet 2003s. Natural comparisons to 76 and maybe 59. I don’t remember the conversation too well as I was listening to it in German maybe 3 years ago.
2003 is the only vintage since 1993 in which I bought nothing (from anywhere). Schaefer did do a good job dealing with 2003 (and every other vintage for over two decades), and the 2003 Prums I’ve had were ripe but decently balanced (including this auslese) and seemed to have potential. But, like others above, happy to try, no reason to buy. If it turns out like 76 or 59 in the Mosel, then I’m the sucker, but I can live with that.
I had this wine last year and found it delicious. It started out a bit cloying, but acid emerged midpalate to clean things up nicely. Great flavors of pineapple and pear. Good slatey finish. Wine had been stored since release at Haskell’s in MN.
I wonder if there might be different AP numbers and some variation among them.
When the 2003 Sauternes were released, a lot of people complained that they were too sweet and did not have enough acid. Everyone that I have had has been nothing short of delicious. Different strokes…
