Browse Tag

alsace

Needs a Trim

Trimbach 2004 Riesling (Alsace) – Leaky cork, and in fact the wine tastes a few years more advanced than it should. Even given that, it’s still pretty special, with intense, golden minerality (mostly iron) in columnar form, plus hints of mirabelle on the finish. Striking. (2/08)

Young Turck

[trilingual sign]31 March 2006 – Lapoutroie, France

A post-Trimbach stroll around Ribeauvillé is a walk around the familiar, so we head south and then upwards via the road that snakes past Kaysersberg. It’s striking how quickly the architecture changes, from the colorful half-timbers of the vineyards to plainer, more traditionally alpine tones at higher elevations. The temperature deviations are interesting as well: 63°F in Kaysersberg becomes 68° in decidedly mountainous Lapoutroie, then drops to 51° in the midst of the still-snowy Vosges. We take a few moments to appreciate the beauty of Lacs Blanc & Noir, but the chill wind eventually drives us back down to the wine route.

Turckheim – In the imposing shelter of the Brand is one of the prettiest among Alsace’s excess of gorgeous villages. Turckheim is surrounded by a wall, and thus the town seems packed into every available nook and cranny, with the haphazard streets and lines of a community that – at least in part – escaped the complete destruction wrought on so much of this region by two world wars’ worth of bombing.

Ammerschwihr – The same, unfortunately, cannot be said for this village, which – aside from a wall here or a tower there – seems largely reconstructed. But it we’ve done plenty of sightseeing today, it’s getting dark, and we’re not really here to walk around anyway. We’re here to eat.

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Turn your head and Keafferkopf

Kuehn 1999 Kaefferkopf (Alsace) – Quite off-dry, dominated by rich spice and density, but with improved clarity and focus on the finish. Ripe and somewhat sweet apples make an ultimately futile effort at counterbalance. Unfortunately, its presence and weight render it somewhat clumsy with food, but it’s fine as a sipping wine. (3/06)

Miclo, boldhi

[stills]G. Miclo Gentiane Eau de Vie (Alsace) – Made from gentian root, a traditional element of bitters that also shows up in the now-cultish soft drink Moxie. It’s full of slate and a harsh metallic edge not unlike that of raw turmeric, with a sharpness that I don’t care for. (3/06)

An ill Zind blows no good

Zind-Humbrecht 2002 “Zind” (Alsace) – Heavy and, truth be told, tasting very much like chardonnay grown in Alsace. The flavors are fair enough, with a heavy metallic edge to the weighty, spiced stone fruit. And there’s some acidity, balanced with a little bit of residual sugar. But mostly, it’s powerful to the point where you’ll want some sort of palate version of earplugs. (2/08)

Mallo out

Frédéric Mallo 2005 Sylvaner (Alsace) – Quite vegetal, which might not be bad in a sylvaner, but with competing edgy and softened aspects that detract from the wine. It can’t seem to figure out what it wants to be, but I suspect where it came from is underripe fruit. This might be appealing with tomato salad, but otherwise… (2/08)

What a fine Fruehmess you’ve made!

Gerard Metz 2004 Pinot Gris Fruehmess “Vieilles Vignes” (Alsace) – Diagonal. Strata of crystal pear and quartz alternate, perhaps dusted with a little bit of freshly-ground coal. A very pressurized wine, tight and a little bit angry, but seemingly without a target. At the least, it’s interesting. (2/08)

Working in a Colmar mine

Schoffit 2004 Pinot Gris Colmar “Tradition” (Alsace) – If this wine had any acidity, it would still be mediocre, but it would taste less silly. The fruit is more peach than pear, more candied than crystalline, and though there’s a shiny polish on the exterior, it’s the sort of thing you drink, forget, drink again, and still can’t remember. (2/08)

Hors catégorie

[trimbach winery]31 March 2006 – Ribeauvillé, France

Trimbach – “France, but efficient,” is a commonly-heard phrase on the subject of Alsace. I’ve never been criticized for a few minutes’ lateness in any other part of France, but here…well, it’s a mistake I made once, and won’t make again. In Alsace, punctuality is actually considered a virtue. Imagine that.

And so, we’re in the Trimbach courtyard at the exact time specified. But we’re alone. Because our winemaker is late.

Granted, he has an excuse. He’s sick. Very sick. Were marketing guru Jean Trimbach, (who usually receives us on our semi-regular visits) not traipsing across Scotland with Olivier Humbrecht…and there is a buddy film to explosively depressurize the heads of Alsatian wine fans…winemaker Pierre Trimbach would probably be benefiting from a much-needed convalescence. Instead, he has to take a pair of overeager Americans through a tasting for which it is not consistently clear he has the energy. Or, it must be noted, the nose, given the frequency with which he sniffles and snorts. As the tasting proceeds, his energy flags, but then…as we head into the heart of the better rieslings…rebounds with passionate intensity. Certainly, winemakers often seem to live (and die) for their work, and Pierre is no exception. We only hope he’ll stay vertical to the end of the tasting. Because to be honest, second wind or not, he doesn’t look that great.

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The upside-down "e"

Trimbach 2000 Gewurztraminer “Sélection des Grains Nobles” “Hors Choix” (Alsace) – Made from the first botrytis-seeking pass through the vineyard. The resulting grapes were picked 23.5% potential alcohol, but the finished wine is 13%, leaving 170 grams/liter of residual sugar. The wine is dark, dark bronze, and absolutely lush with botrytis, showing a huge brown-sugar-encrusted, baked lychee palate with iron flakes and as endless a finish as I’ve ever experienced. Truly unbelievable. (5/06)