K&L's German wine buyer Jeff Vierra evaluating the Wehlener Sonnenuhr auslese wines from J.J. Prum.

On November 7, members of K&L wines staff, including Cindy, Gary and Jim Westby, Jeff Vierra, Eric Story, Alex Brisoux, Jeff Garneau and Joe Manekin gathered to taste 11 vintages of J.J. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese. All of the wines came from Gary and Jim's cellars, with the exception of the fabulous 1994, which is currently available from K&L.

The Wehlener Sonnenuhr vineyard in the Middle Mosel is one of the best terriors in Germany and J.J. Prum's wines are perhaps the most distinctive produced from this site. His regular auslese-style wines generally have little or no botrytis, as he saves botrytis grapes for his gold capsule, beerenauslese and trokenbeerenauslese bottlings. Fruit for the auslese generally comes from the choice mid-slope "filet" section of the vineyard. This tasting indicates that the wines take 15 to 20 years to take on a mature quality and in good vintages they can stay fresh for more than 25 years.

Wines tasted in two flights. First flight: 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998. Second flight: 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993, 1990, 1983.

2002: AP number 29. Very pale, white gold. Match-sticky and apply on the nose. Pure stone fruit (peach and apricot) with slatey minerality. Slow-fading finish. Perfect balance. Complete wine with exceptional potential.

2001: AP number 28. Pale white gold with a hint of straw. Quite a lot of sulfur. Seems to have plenty of concentration, but at this stage the fruit and sweetness are so dominant it's hard to discern underlying complexity. Good length and concentration predict a fine future, but young and a little awkward now.

2000: AP number 26. Darkest of the lot, almost golden. From a difficult vintage. Musky, almost leathery perhaps from SO2 used to stabilize the wine. Refreshing, light and interesting, but outclassed here by the others in the group.

1999: AP number 14. Pale straw. Peach and apricot. Less minerality than most of the others. Pretty and easy at this point.

1998: AP number 7. A defective bottle was replaced with this one. Pale straw, but darker than the 1999. Wet vintage. A little sweaty on the nose. Diesel and minerals. Full bodied. If the 1999 is feminine, this is masculine.

1996: AP number 7. Pale gold. White flower smell. Packed with minerality and acidity. Great texture, concentration and length, but perhaps a little disjointed from youth and exuberance. This should last for many years.

1995: AP number 8. Light gold. Apricoty nose with a little butterscotch. Apart from the 1983, this was the most evolved wine of the group. Soft, straightforward, delicious, but lacking the tension of the other wines.

1994: AP number 20. Light yellow gold. More minerals than fruit on the nose. Pure, focused, racy flavors. Concentrated. Long, swelling, and detailed finish. Suave.

1993: AP number 8. A bad bottle? Color OK. Pinched aromatically with notes of woodruff and cheese. There seems to be a good wine hiding here.

1990: AP number 24. Light gold (similar to the 1996). Spice, slate, and apricots on both the nose and taste. Some evidence of botrytis in a Sauternes-like character. Depth, power, and length. Showing both youth and maturity.

1983: Gold. Butterscotch and slate. The first bottle that is truly "ready to drink". Sugar resolving. Expansive from start to end. Lacy and dryish compared to the others.

The tasters ranked the wines:

First: 1983 with 3 firsts and 2 seconds
Second: 1996 with 1 first and 3 seconds
Third: 2002 with 2 firsts and no seconds
Fourth: 1990 with 1 first and 2 seconds
Fifth: 2001 with no firsts and 1 second
Sixth: 1994 with 1 first and no seconds
Seventh: 1995
Eighth: 1999
Ninth: 1998
Tenth: 2000
Eleventh: 1993