The release of a new Joh. Jos. Prüm vintage is always significant for Riesling collectors. Few estates capture the combination of delicacy, intensity and longevity quite like this benchmark Mosel producer. The 2024 wines are particularly compelling: beautifully classical, finely structured and arriving in Australia at more favourable release prices than last year.
A return to classical Mosel proportions
The 2024 growing season began with useful winter and spring rain, replenishing the steep slate vineyards after several warmer, drier years. An April frost caused serious losses elsewhere in the Mosel, although Prüm’s principal holdings around Wehlen and Graach largely escaped major damage. A moderate summer, followed by cooler and wetter conditions in September, slowed the final stages of ripening and rewarded patience.
Harvest began on 1 October and continued throughout the month. Kabinett and Spätlese fruit was gathered first, with multiple passes through the vineyards for the riper Auslese selections. The result is a vintage defined by freshness, purity and pronounced slate minerality rather than sheer weight.
Compared with the more austere, high-acid 2021s, the 2024s are gentler and more immediately charming. Beside the warmer, broader 2022 vintage and the ripe, expressive 2023s, they feel cooler, lighter and more finely etched. They have full flavour without heaviness—an increasingly rare expression of traditional Mosel Riesling.
Five wines to watch
The 2024 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett is the racier of the two Kabinetts, combining green apple, white peach, citrus and herbs with a light, slate-driven finish. The 2024 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett is a little rounder and more floral, with honeysuckle, mandarin and creamy mineral texture. Both remain wonderfully light on their feet, with natural sweetness held firmly in check by bright acidity.
Moving up in intensity, the 2024 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese is one of the standouts of the release. White peach, grapefruit, tangerine and bergamot sit over a long, saline backbone. It has more depth than the Kabinett but retains the energy and elegance that define the vintage.
The two Auslesen offer a further step up in concentration. The 2024 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese is linear, citrussy and herbal, with grapefruit, lemon and salty minerality giving it remarkable precision. The 2024 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese is deeper and more serene, built around ripe peach, orange zest and crushed slate. Importantly, neither relies heavily on botrytis, so the fruit remains exceptionally pure and transparent.
Why are the 2024s a little cheaper?
The lower Australian release prices are not a reflection of reduced quality. A more favourable exchange rate has improved landed costs compared with the previous two releases, allowing the new wines to reach collectors at sharper retail prices. It is a welcome chance to buy a highly rated Prüm vintage with pricing moving in the right direction.
Why cellar off-dry and sweeter Riesling?
Great Mosel Rieslings are among the longest-lived white wines in the world. Their natural acidity provides structure, while residual sugar helps preserve freshness and fruit. Over time, youthful citrus, peach and floral notes develop into layers of honey, dried fruit, spice, smoke and savoury minerality—without the wine necessarily tasting overtly sweet.
Prüm’s slow, natural fermentations and patient élevage also produce wines that can appear reserved or lightly reductive when first released. Bottle age allows them to open, integrate and reveal far greater complexity. The Kabinetts should evolve beautifully for 10 to 20 years, while the Spätlese and Auslese wines can develop for several decades under proper conditions.
For collectors, the ideal approach is simple: enjoy a bottle young for its purity and energy, then cellar the rest somewhere cool, dark and stable. Few wines reward that patience as reliably—or as beautifully—as Joh. Jos. Prüm.
