JJ Prum Graacher Himmelreich Auslese GK 2017 (750ML)

99 JS / 98 WA / 96 VM / 96 WE / 18 JR

Very attractive, spicy poached-pear notes to start, with a stream of slate really driving the nose, as well as wild herbs, especially spearmint, and honey. Very complex. The palate has a profound, concentrated core of rich lime and kumquat flavor and the acidity arcs upwards and really clams the fruit, wrapping it in tight. It then unleashes a thunderous mineral phase that blows long through the finish. Spectacular. Drink over the next two decades. - James Suckling

The 2017 Graacher Himmelreich Auslese (Gold Capsule), AP 15 18, is a highly attractive and refined Riesling with beautifully clear and aromatic fruit (yellow plums and nectarines at the moment) intermingled with fine flinty aromas of broken slate. This is the perfection of beauty and finesse, as it is so delicate, highly refined and elegant on the silky-textured and stimulatingly salty palate. If you love Prüm, this is the wine you would probably want to die with. It has the perfect balance of finesse yet is still highly digestible. You'll fall in love with this, no doubts at all. Tasted in March 2019. Stephan Reinhardt – The Wine Advocate

Quince preserves and marzipan are laced with mint and honeysuckle on the effusive nose and the luscious, seductively silken palate of this ultra-buoyant and impeccably balanced “gold capsule” Auslese. As with quite a few of the Prüm 2017s, there is a welcome influx of brightly juicy fresh citrus – here suggesting both white and pink grapefruit – that renders the finish, for all of its richness, vibrant and downright refreshing. What’s more, there is a transparency to smoky, stony and saline nuances such as one seldom witnesses in a Riesling from fruit this ripe. And there isn’t one bit of superficial sweetness. (There is no Lange Goldkapsel Graacher Himmelreich Auslese this vintage – perhaps one reason why this Goldkapsel bottling is so sensational – but there is material that will eventually be released as Beerenauslese, or perhaps even as TBA.) - David Schildknecht, Vinous Media

Subtle hints of white linen and honey introduce this intensely extracted, deeply penetrating auslese. Luscious tangerine, pineapple and stone-fruit flavors are forward and fruity but nuanced by layers of smoky minerals and spine-tingling acidity. It's a bold little wine that's stunning already but will improve for decades ahead. - Wine Enthusiast

Smells like rain on slate. Then green peach. Then the peach builds in the mouth. And builds and builds. And deepens. And the acidity is so beautiful and so symphonic it gives me goosebumps. There’s a green-gold taste as if shimmering like the feathers on a peacock. Salty apricots pulling long and fine on the finish. - Jancis Robinson