2016 Joh. Jos. Prüm Bernkasteler Lay, Graacher Himmelreich & Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese Goldkapsel Riesling Mosel 3-Bottle Tasting Lot

“What a fantastic bouquet! The 2016 Graacher Himmelreich Auslese Gold Capsule is super deep, intense and precise on the nose where flinty/stony notes and very fine (and slightly spicy) raisin and grapefruit aromas are displayed. Rich, lush and super sexy on the palate, with highly delicate but intense and persistent fruit and very fine salinity, this is a gorgeous Auslese from the winner of the 2016 vintage chez Prüm: Graacher Himmelreich. This gold-capsuled Auslese (AP 10 17) is rich, finessed and almost weightless in its intensity. The salty and piquant acidity is alive and kicking. You can hardly produce a better Auslese in this delicate and filigreed style. 8% alcohol. (SR)” (04/2018)

“A bit creamy, yet elegant, showing lots of freshness and vibrancy, with juicy acidity cutting through the ripe flavors of peach and apple, combined with notes of Key lime pie and sweet spice. Features a vivid structure, showing terrific integration and a long, detailed, velvety finish. (AZ)” (02/2018)

“Heady scents of ripe honeydew melon, muskmelon and quince betray enhanced ripeness and a hint of botrytis vis-à-vis the corresponding 'regular' Auslese, as does a hint of caramel that emerges on the creamy, lusciously fruited palate. There is a trade-off here in that one misses the floral and brightly fresh-fruited dimensions that characterize most of this Prüm collection. A hint of pineapple serves for some finishing tang, but presents a syrupy impression on this bottling’s impressively persistent finish. (DS)” (01/2018)

“The 2016 Goldkapsel Auslese from the Wehlener Sonnenuhr is going to be a magical wine in the fullness of time. The bouquet is pure, still fairly primary and utterly classical in depth and proportion, delivering a superb constellation of white cherries, delicious apple, a touch of the yellow plum to come in time, a gorgeous signature of slate minerality and a topnote of apple blossoms. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, pure and precise, with lovely depth, ripe, vibrant acids, great focus and grip and a very, very long, pure and energetic finish. This will need at least a decade in the cellar to start to stir, but it will be a great Goldkapsel once it is ready to drink and will live for a very, very long time! Great juice.” (05/2018)

“Super elegant and filigree with a delicacy that you don't find in many other high-end white wines regardless of grape variety and region of origin. A very long and clean finish.” (06/2018)

“The 2016 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese (Gold Capsule) is clear, fine and subtle yet concentrated, with vegetal and ripe fruit aromas. Rich, round and piquant, this is an intense and densely woven Auslese (AP 14 17) with a long, tensioned and refreshing mineral finish that lifts the sweet fruit. (SR)” (04/2018)

“Lush and thick in texture, combining power and grace, with a firm backbone of acidity and mineral details. Stunning on the palate, featuring different nuances that keep emerging with each sip. Slate, apricot jam, flan, honeysuckle and kumquat fruit notes are the most prominent, leading to a long, mineral-laced finish. (AZ)” (02/2018)

“Scents and luscious, glossy palate presence of overripe apple and peach gain welcome counterpoint from the piquancy of seed and pit, while a greenhouse-like diversity of flowering and leafing things conveys intriguing perfume. A musky, peony-like note emerges midpalate. Liqueur-like intensity of fruit and a touch of caramel are backed, as in this year’s Bernkasteler Auslese Goldkapsel, by an unusually prominent sense of sheer sweetness, but without the fresh fruit juiciness that clung to that corresponding Bernkasteler’s finish. (DS)” (01/2018)

“This is just beginning to give its best, but it will be even more exciting from 2019! Enormous energy and more than enough richness. The finish turbocharged, so hang onto your hat! Drink or hold.” (06/2018)

“Served from the 375-milliliter bottle, the 2016 Bernkasteler Lay Auslese (Gold Capsule) displays a discreet bouquet that needs its time to open up. It's pretty reductive at this early stage (March 2018). The attack on the palate is racy and fresh, and the wine is filigreed and precise, very clear and fresh in the well-structured finish. This (AP 05 17) is a lovely Auslese version that is on par with the bright, light and filigreed Badstube Kabinett. It's a delicious Riesling bottled at 7.5% alcohol. (SR)” (04/2018)

“The 2016 Bernkasteler Lay Gold Kap hails from a parcel of fifty to sixty year-old vines in the heart of the original section of this vineyard (whose official boundaries were expanded in 1971), and Katharina Prüm noted that “this was the last parcel to be picked in 2016.” The wine is beautiful and a very, very elegant expression of young Goldkapsel, wafting from the glass in a complex blend of pear, white cherries, a fine base of slate, honeycomb and a topnote of fruit blossoms. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, clean and very gently glazed, with a fine core, a lovely sense of filigree, bright, ripe acids and a very long, complex and utterly refined finish. A beautiful wine. (Drink between 2024-2080)” (06/2018)

“Dessert in liquid form, with a lovely silky texture and charming aromas and flavors of jasmine honey, cream, apricot tart and bergamot, combined with mineral elements that impart freshness. Features intense acidity that keeps the sweetness in harmony from start to marathon finish. Drink now through 2040.” (05/2018)

“Dark cherry mingles with root beer and an infusion of mint in this forwardly fragrant and luscious, envelopingly rich Auslese. Suggestions of honeydew melon liqueur, candied green herbal concentrates and a touch of salted caramel add to the opulent, overripe impression conveyed on a glycerol-rich palate, leading to a concentrated and impressively sustained finish, albeit one that carries a bit more obvious sense of sheer sweetness than is typical at this address. Thankfully, a sense of juicy fresh-fruitedness persists as well. (DS)” (01/2018)