2018 Joh. Jos. Prum Riesling Graacher Himmelreich Kabinett Mosel 750 ml

J.J. Prüm’s Graacher Himmelreich Kabinett is one of the most exciting white wines I’ve tried this year. Between preparing for my Master of Wine examination my job with Wine Access, my kitchen table and counters are littered with bottles—but this is the one I come back to over and over. 

Prum is a standard-bearer for one the most important wine regions in the world, and the 2018 Graacher Himmelreich Kabinett has all the makings of a classic. It’s delicious enough today to beckon you to open bottle after bottle, but has the structure to age for several decades—and it will only get better with time in the cellar. 

The nose is absolutely mesmerizing, with kinetic aromas of tangerine zest, linden flowers, lime leaf, and a touch of flint all competing for your attention. The palate is all about the interplay of fruit and a zesty acidity, with white peaches, green apples, and slatey minerality dancing together in harmony. There’s a touch of sweetness, but it’s like divine lemonade—refreshing to the core.

There’s a reason that, like so many other wine professionals, collectors, and consumers I’m in love with wines from the Mosel: because the top bottlings are as good as anything you can buy anywhere in the world, and at $35 ($32 on cases), they don’t require a second mortgage. Prüm’s wines top the list of my favorites, and this bottling strengthened my belief that these are some of the most undervalued great wines in the world.

I first discovered the Prüm wines in Japan, of all places. I had dinner with a Japanese industrialist who was a major wine collector, and he sent me home with a bottle of the ‘82 Himmelreich Kabinett—then already 15 years old. When I opened the bottle a few months later, it blew my mind with it’s complexity, energy, and nuance. How could white wine be like this?

If you’re new to the wines from J.J. Prüm, you should know that this benchmark producer in the Mosel—the most important wine region in Germany—boasts some of the best holdings in the most important vineyards of the region. Their cellar practices have been unchanged in a century, they turn out quintessential bottles that have a lilting elegance and a profound minerality.

This Kabinett (a designation that indicates the ripeness of the grapes when picked and refers to the driest of the Prüm wines) hails from the Himmelreich vineyard, which literally translates to the “Kingdom of Heaven”—that should give you some idea of how prized it is. Vertiginously steep and perfectly southwest facing, the vineyard boasts pure blue slate soils that hold heat and allow for perfect ripening. It’s so steep that it’s impossible to work with tractors—so every vine is trained up its own stake and must be carefully tended by hand—and the payoff for the work is immense. This truly is one of the world’s greatest terroirs.

I plan to buy a case or more of this Riesling for my own cellar. When it’s young and fresh, I’ll drink it with Indian and Thai food, and as it puts on weight and savoriness with age, it’ll make a brilliant pairing with roasted pork, chicken, or rich cheeses. In my experience, I’ve never had too much Prüm Riesling—the bottles disappear too quickly, and I’m always wishing I had more to let grow old.

This is the first time we’ve been able to offer this wine at Wine Access, and I’m thrilled to give you the chance to stock your cellars the way I have (and plan to!). Someday, you’ll definitely thank your younger self.