The step up here is one of power rather than just sweetness. Riper and more intense is a more accurate way of describing what’s happening. The style remains pure and ultra-fine, and while the Spätlese wines revel in juicy intensity, this bracket offers more power and heightened mineral length.
Harvested in tries across the first two weeks in November, the wines were bottled at 7% alcohol. The ultra-pure 2021s are stunning and encapsulate why J.J. Prüm is considered a true master of this Prädikat. This was a cracking year for the Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Auslese, and, again, the Graacher is the more approachable of the two big guns. Although it’s a classical year for Kabinett and Spätlese, such cooler years often make incredibly exciting Auslese. There is a level of delicacy and detail strikingly different from riper years—it’s been a long time since we had an Auslese vintage like this. The wines are so delicate and tightly wound that we’d have to look back to 2004, or better still, 1996, to find a vintage of this style.
With such finesse, delicacy and digestibility, these wines are too delicate for sweet desserts (although they can work with light, fruit-based dishes that are not overly sweet). They belong with savoury food and are far better matched to pork, game birds, savoury tarts, roast chicken, ceviche, sausage, and venison. They are brilliant with almost all Japanese and Chinese dishes and terrific with a wide range of cheeses.