Domaine Mittnacht 2010 “Cuvée Gyotaku” (Alsace) – A blend of pinot blanc, muscat, pinot gris, and gewurztraminer. Usually, such blends are completely dominated by those last three listed grapes, and in reverse order. They’ve managed to avoid that here, whether through sensibly early harvesting or some other technique, and the wine is rather better for it. I’m still unconvinced that blends in Alsace are, in general, more than pleasant quaffing wines except from rare and exceptional terroirs (and often not even then). So this is a pleasant quaffing wine, but its pleasantries are more lavish than most, its whitewashed stone-fruitedness buffed and stony. The name is an apparent reference to an art form in which paper is pressed against an ink-covered fish (perhaps making cuttlefish the Jackson Pollocks of the form), but the clear implication that this is meant to pair with things that swim is a peculiarly Alsatian one; it would take a rich, oily fish indeed to make a deft pairing with this wine. (3/12)
domaine mittnacht
Night, Romney
Mittnacht Frères 2008 Gewurztraminer (Alsace) – Soft spice, fleshy but restrained peach, a generalized sunny shininess. Pretty, basic. (1/12)
It’s full of stars
Mittnacht Frères 2006 Gewurztraminer “Terre d’etoiles…” (Alsace) – Pretty classic, with most of the sugar absorbed (though it’s there) into a nutty, stone fruit liquid without too many blobby edges. A bit of minerality infuses the expected spice, and there’s actually some acidity as well. Simple, but quite tasty. (5/08)
Mittnacht-up
Mittnacht Frères 2006 Pinot Gris “Terre d’etoiles….” (Alsace) – Good, showing red fruit alongside ripe pear and a certain low-grade crispness. There’s cold minerality, too, which should be further exposed with a little time. Not too much, though; this is a tasty quaffing-style pinot gris, with good balance and not too much residual sugar. (5/08)