Joh Jos Prüm Bernkasteler Lay Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 2024

Product Description:
The Joh. Jos. Prüm Bernkasteler Lay Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 2024 is a rare and highly concentrated sweet Riesling from the renowned Bernkasteler Lay vineyard in Germany’s Middle Mosel. Classified as a VDP.GROSSE LAGE®, Bernkasteler Lay lies directly beside the town of Bernkastel and rises steeply above the Mosel River. The vineyard faces predominantly south-southwest, with slopes ranging from approximately 50 to 70 percent and elevations extending from around 110 to 160 metres. Its proximity to the river intensifies the available sunlight through reflection, helping create a warm and favourable environment for achieving Auslese-level ripeness. The soils consist primarily of grey-blue Devonian slate with a proportion of clay, providing both mineral definition and valuable water-retention capacity.

Harvest for the 2024 vintage began on 1 October and concluded on 31 October, following warmer conditions later in the month that allowed selected grapes to reach Auslese and Goldkapsel ripeness. The wine underwent spontaneous fermentation with wild yeast in stainless-steel tanks, preserving the purity of the ripe fruit and vineyard character. This Goldkapsel selection was produced from botrytis-affected bunches displaying varying degrees of natural shrivelling, contributing exceptional concentration and aromatic complexity. The nose reveals ripe peach, peach compote, passion fruit, lychee, candied citrus, dried flowers and floral honey alongside cool wet-stone minerality. Its palate is generous yet beautifully refined, combining creamy botrytis richness with vibrant acidity and a firmly structured mineral core. Despite its sweetness and intensity, the wine remains elegant and remarkably light on its feet, with persistent salinity providing precision and freshness. At 8.5% alcohol, it delivers considerable depth without sacrificing the graceful balance associated with the finest Mosel Rieslings. The finish is exceptionally long and stimulating, carrying honeyed stone fruit, citrus peel, exotic spice and saline slate nuances. It possesses the concentration, acidity and structure required for extended bottle ageing and is an excellent partner for Asian cuisine, fruit-based desserts, blue cheese and pâté.

Tasting Notes
NOSE
– Concentrated and exotically layered
Ripe peach, peach compote, passion fruit, lychee, candied citrus, dried flowers and floral honey.

PALATE
– Rich, refined and firmly structured
Ripe stone fruit, creamy botrytis richness, refreshing acidity and salty wet-stone minerality.

FINISH
– Exceptionally long and stimulating
Lingering floral honey, candied citrus, exotic fruit, delicate spice and persistent slate-driven salinity.

Reviews & Accolades
“The deep nose of candied citrus and dried flowers pulls you into this very succulent and firmly structured Auslese. The floral honey character and creaminess from botrytis is beautifully interwoven with the salty and wet-stone minerality. Incredibly long and refined finish with great honeyed complexity. Limited production due to spring frost damage.” — Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com, 97 Points

“The 2024 Riesling Bernkasteler Lay Auslese Goldkapsel was made with botrytized fruit from bunches in various stages of shriveling. A slight touch of honey precedes notes of crushed peach flesh and peach compote, while a tropical frisson suggests some passion fruit. The concentrated palate homes in on those gorgeously ripe and aromatic stone fruit scents with a tart, alluring edge. The 2024 is exquisitely delineated, absolutely pure and precise, with heightened expressions of clear fruit enhanced and clarified rather than obliterated by botrytis. The 2024 is gorgeous. Finesse is everything here.” — Anne Krebiehl MW, Vinous, 97 Points

“The 2024 Bernkasteler Lay Auslese (Gold Capsule) is generous but refined and elegant on the nose that indicates a certain phenol spiciness and displays exotic fruit aromas such as lychee. Lush but refined and with highly delicate and persistently saline acidity, this is a weightless yet also intense and complex Auslese with a long, structured and stimulating finish. This is a generous Auslese that will benefit from further bottle aging.” — Stephan Reinhardt, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, 95 Points

Finer Details:
Style – White Wine
Varietal – Riesling
Country – Germany
Region – Mosel, Bernkastel
Vintage – 2024
Bottle Size – 750ml
ABV – 8.5%