Browse Tag

alsace

Goldert is better than goldust

Zind-Humbrecht 1994 Muscat Goldert (Alsace) – Getting rieslingish, with green grapes dominant. Light and pert, but unquestionably thinning. Linear, acidic, and a little sweet. The finish is salty. Fifteen years was probably a little long to hold this wine. (12/09)

Seigneurs citizens

Trimbach 2000 Gewurztraminer “Cuvée des Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre” (Alsace) – Rich, even a little sticky, and leaning on the stone fruit and tinned mango expression of very ripe gewürztraminer, while giving up the necessary structure to support it. A bit on the hot side. It’s very drinkable and easy, but hasn’t much rewarded aging. (12/09)

Trimbach 1996 Gewurztraminer “Cuvée des Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre” (Alsace) – Fully mature, and probably on the other side of peak, with a mix of porcine and dried-nut aromatics. Very, very dry. Pepper dusts abound. Pretty interesting, though I don’t know how popular it will be. (12/09)

Miner issues

Trimbach 2001 Gewurztraminer (Alsace) – Pork-infused banana skins and cashew bitters with dried lychee and good structure. I don’t think there’s any point in holding this even a day longer, because it’s just going to fall apart from now on. (12/09)

A gris or dis a gris

Trimbach 2002 Pinot Gris “Réserve” (Alsace) – Watery and wan, with the impression (but not much of the actuality) of residual sugar, and not much else to recommend it. (12/09)

Left, vingt, right

Boxler 2002 Pinot Blanc “L20R” (Alsace) – An emergent minty note probably signals that this is approaching the end of its maturation and the beginning of its decline. For now, it’s still solid, with plenty of baking spice-infused pear and apple supported by both fair acidity and light residual sugar. Nice. But Boxler makes better pinot blanc than this bottling. (12/09)

Steven Seagal

[logo]Kreydenweiss 2006 Riesling Andlau “Au dessus de la loi” (Alsace) – Heady, weighty riesling, varietally true and tending towards a molten-metal expression, but most notable for the somewhat formless power with which this metallurgy is delivered. Striking. (12/09)

Harth & home

Schoffit 1997 Gewurztraminer Harth “Cuvée Caroline” (Alsace) – Lychee and orange syrup. Long and salty. Not my favorite vineyard, producer, or year, but this one has held better than most, and still has just enough structure to pass for wine. Just enough. (12/09)

One Sipp at a time

[vineyard]Sipp Mack 2002 Riesling “Vieilles Vignes” (Alsace) – Reticent and already fading a bit into its brown stage…but not (for the worrywarts) oxidized, just old. Broad minerality and past-prime apple, white pepper, some glassed-in lemon rind, but not a lot of any of these things. Drink up. (12/09)

Sipp Mack 2004 Riesling “Vieilles Vignes” (Alsace) – Softened and oddly herbal, yet there’s a ramrod of rieslingish rigidity driven straight through the spine, and a lot of slowly-flaking mineral salts to deal with on the finish. Weird but good. (12/09)

Altenbourged states

[village]Blanck 2002 Gewurztraminer Altenbourg (Alsace) – The first bottle (of a fair quantity) that has appeared to show signs of being on the other side of its closed period. Thankfully, there’s reward for the promise of youth. Strappy, smoked pork elements have just barely started to emerge, lychee has gained a jacket of iron, and the cashews and almonds have started to shed their oil and present a harder-edged aspect. There’s pretty good acidity, still, and this will carry the wine for quite some years yet. (9/09)

Merciful Zuss

Zusslin 2007 Pinot d’Alsace Auxerrois (Alsace) – Many a pinot blanc from Alsace shows clearly how it benefits from the thicker, spicier weight of auxerrois as a blending grape. Thus, it’s no surprise that the reverse is also true; auxerrois, on its own, can be a little heavy and deadening for its own good, despite a surplus of exciting flavors. This wine manages more lightness than is usual for the grape, but does it at the sacrifice of the more developed spice and stone fruit aromas that comprise the grape’s appeal in the region. OK, but only just. (10/09)