Albrecht 1998 Gewurztraminer Bollenberg (Alsace) Drying, strappy, and tannic. All things a gewurztraminer can be when it ages, and whether theyre positive or negative depends on the rest. Which, here, is a kinky mlange of spiced banana skin, fuzzy peach, and copper bullets racing down a wind tunnel. Texturally inimitable, in a way, for true skin-contact whites are way more palpable than this, while most everything else would rely more on acid (or its lack) for structure. I kinda love it, but its a complicated love. (9/10)
Zind-Humbrecht 2001 Riesling Herrenweg de Turckheim (Alsace) Somewhere in here, theres a finely-poised, iron-rich, balanced expression of riesling. Unfortunately, its layered in lush coverlets of velour and gravity. Not, as ZHs wines go, at all bad. Quite nice, actually. But way too heavy for its inherent presence. (10/10)
Josmeyer 2005 Riesling Les Pierrets (Alsace) Bright. I dont mean this in the usual sense, in which a preference towards acid and shinier fruit is suggested, but that theres something that reminds me of actual luminescence in this wine. Everything one wants from an Alsatian riesling, dialed back a little bit for earlier approachability. Very nice. (11/10)
Kreydenweiss 2000 Pinot Gris Clos Rebberg Aux Vignes Slections de Grains Nobles (Alsace) 500 ml. Pear, peach, and hints of red fruit all sticky and gummy. Honestly, this is still OK, but has gone nowhere beneficial or interesting over the time its spent in my cellar. Drink six years ago for best effect. (8/10)
Binner 2007 Riesling Vignoble dAmmerschwihr (Alsace) Ive neither always nor long been a fan of Binners idiosyncratic and, in the past, flaw-ridden approach to winemaking. Recent tastings, as they accumulate, are making me think that whatever they needed to learn, theyve come pretty close to learning it. These are still unlike most wines in the region, and of course there are both good and bad aspects to intentional atypicity. As for this particular wine, some will immediately dismiss it as oxidized. And its not without the influence of same, for sure, but when used judiciously it can achieve a layering, enveloping effect rather than just a deadening, en-stale-ing one. As it does here. The minerality is decidedly salty and yet molten, lacking the shine and brilliance of more conventionally-produced riesling, and yet what fruit is discernable is jacketed in an array of ferric armor. More acid wouldnt be unwelcome, but the wines fine as it is. Finishes as melting coal. Very interesting. Whether or not its good will depend on the proclivities of the taster, though it would be a shame if this became the dominant expression of Alsatian riesling. But Im intrigued. (8/10)
Trimbach 2001 Riesling Rserve (Alsace) Vibrant, striking, and point. Steel and iron driven into a spike, then speared through metal-jacketed apples. Mineralistic, austere, and wonderful. Such a difference when Trimbach controls the grapes, vs. the regular yellow label. Mature, but theres no particular hurry, and a fantastic preview of whats going to be (actually, already is) unbelievable quality from the top 2001 rieslings at Trimbach. (10/10)
Joseph Cattin 2008 Gewurztraminer (Alsace) Salted and dried pork softened with a sweetening peach glaze. Decent, quite drinkable, but doesnt achieve the intensity or expression it could use. This floats atop a sea of sameness, but its still anchored in that sea. (8/10)
Joseph Cattin 2008 Pinot Gris (Alsace) Sweet pear, thinned and goopified, with just enough spice to redeem. Not particularly interesting, though. I know its just a basic Alsatian pinot gris, and this is what gets in that category these days, but while its a better cocktail wine than the horrid, tasteless pinot grigio that so many quaff, its still not that good. (8/10)
Kubler 2008 Pinot Blanc K (Alsace) Fairly firm, with a good deal of acidity countrapuntal to the stark off-white fruit. This is a guess, but as a rule this sort of profile indicates a preference towards actual pinot blanc rather than the traditional blending partner auxerrois, which fattens and en-fruits. This is pretty bare, and washes as much as it fills. Theres minerality, and Id hazard a guess that there will be more in a few years, but its an ungenerous walk on the tart side at the moment. (9/10)
Trimbach 2005 Ribeauvill Pinot Gris Rserve (Alsace) Big. All the expected elements are there, but the wine just cant quite support its own weight. Finishes a little hot. Theres so much stuff here that Id be tempted to recommend the calming effects of age, but I just dont know about the sheer leadenness of the wine. (9/10)
Trimbach 2004 Ribeauvill Pinot Gris Rserve (Alsace) The non-prestige bottlings from Trimbach in 2004 have been uniformly excellent, for whatever reason, and this is no exception. When this wine is on, theres a beautiful poise between the rounded pear fruit, dark iron-quartz minerality, spice, and acidity thats still not crisp, exactly, but is more than sufficient to carry the rest of the package. Really nice, and showing absolutely no change from a year ago. Holding it might prove rewarding, but I guess well see. (9/10)
Barms Buecher Crmant dAlsace Brut (Alsace) Restrained, salty, tonic-like. Very, very clean, hinting at bitter citrus but delivering only a fraction of what it suggests it might. Nice. (11/10)
Sipp Mack 2004 Riesling Vieilles Vignes (Alsace) Soft minerality, just barely enough acidity to compensate, and a wide, planar texture. Quite fair. (9/10)
Sipp Mack 2007 Riesling Vieilles Vignes (Alsace) Juicy. Theres a certain softness to this bottling that carries though vintages, but the modulating acidity is almost always just enough to keep it fresh. This is young enough that its minerality, bare-boned and stark, still lies beneath primary layers of ground cover. Give it some time in the cellar; a few years, maybe. (9/10)
Trimbach 2001 Gewurztraminer (Alsace) Dying. Ive heard fond words about a recently-consumed early-eighties version, but this is on its last amputated leg. (10/10)
Trimbach 2004 Riesling (Alsace) More advanced than other bottles from the same source (me), and were the others not in full song Id say this is a little past ready. Probably just cork variation. Dryer than dry, showing unadorned raw iron and not a whole lot else. Well, acid, but thats a given here. (11/10)
Trimbach 2002 Riesling (Alsace) Doing way better than the 2001 regular, which is a little surprising, but perhaps bodes well for the domaine wines from this vintage, which were not as trifurcated as they were in 2001. Metal, melting and molten, over coal, lead, and a chilly magma core. In other words, the usual mineral-fest. Quite appealing, but I wouldnt hold it longer than the days necessary to drink whats left. (10/10)
Trimbach 2002 Riesling (Alsace) Not as intact as my previous bottle, and Im quite happy to be near the end of what was once a considerable stash. Very acidic, and while theres molten steel, there has been considerable erosion thereof, leading to a core thats mostly just puckering. (11/10)
Trimbach 2001 Riesling (Alsace) Very tenuous, barely clinging to a flaky, eroded metallic life. Drink up by the end of 2007. (Oops!) (10/10)
Zind-Humbrecht 2001 Riesling Herrenweg de Turckheim (Alsace) Somewhere in here, theres a finely-poised, iron-rich, balanced expression of riesling. Unfortunately, its layered in lush coverlets of velour and gravity. Not, as ZHs wines go, at all bad. Quite nice, actually. But way too heavy for its inherent presence. (10/10)
Josmeyer 2005 Riesling Les Pierrets (Alsace) Bright. I dont mean this in the usual sense, in which a preference towards acid and shinier fruit is suggested, but that theres something that reminds me of actual luminescence in this wine. Everything one wants from an Alsatian riesling, dialed back a little bit for earlier approachability. Very nice. (11/10)
Kreydenweiss 2000 Pinot Gris Clos Rebberg Aux Vignes Slections de Grains Nobles (Alsace) 500 ml. Pear, peach, and hints of red fruit all sticky and gummy. Honestly, this is still OK, but has gone nowhere beneficial or interesting over the time its spent in my cellar. Drink six years ago for best effect. (8/10)
Binner 2007 Riesling Vignoble dAmmerschwihr (Alsace) Ive neither always nor long been a fan of Binners idiosyncratic and, in the past, flaw-ridden approach to winemaking. Recent tastings, as they accumulate, are making me think that whatever they needed to learn, theyve come pretty close to learning it. These are still unlike most wines in the region, and of course there are both good and bad aspects to intentional atypicity. As for this particular wine, some will immediately dismiss it as oxidized. And its not without the influence of same, for sure, but when used judiciously it can achieve a layering, enveloping effect rather than just a deadening, en-stale-ing one. As it does here. The minerality is decidedly salty and yet molten, lacking the shine and brilliance of more conventionally-produced riesling, and yet what fruit is discernable is jacketed in an array of ferric armor. More acid wouldnt be unwelcome, but the wines fine as it is. Finishes as melting coal. Very interesting. Whether or not its good will depend on the proclivities of the taster, though it would be a shame if this became the dominant expression of Alsatian riesling. But Im intrigued. (8/10)
Trimbach 2001 Riesling Rserve (Alsace) Vibrant, striking, and point. Steel and iron driven into a spike, then speared through metal-jacketed apples. Mineralistic, austere, and wonderful. Such a difference when Trimbach controls the grapes, vs. the regular yellow label. Mature, but theres no particular hurry, and a fantastic preview of whats going to be (actually, already is) unbelievable quality from the top 2001 rieslings at Trimbach. (10/10)
Joseph Cattin 2008 Gewurztraminer (Alsace) Salted and dried pork softened with a sweetening peach glaze. Decent, quite drinkable, but doesnt achieve the intensity or expression it could use. This floats atop a sea of sameness, but its still anchored in that sea. (8/10)
Joseph Cattin 2008 Pinot Gris (Alsace) Sweet pear, thinned and goopified, with just enough spice to redeem. Not particularly interesting, though. I know its just a basic Alsatian pinot gris, and this is what gets in that category these days, but while its a better cocktail wine than the horrid, tasteless pinot grigio that so many quaff, its still not that good. (8/10)
Kubler 2008 Pinot Blanc K (Alsace) Fairly firm, with a good deal of acidity countrapuntal to the stark off-white fruit. This is a guess, but as a rule this sort of profile indicates a preference towards actual pinot blanc rather than the traditional blending partner auxerrois, which fattens and en-fruits. This is pretty bare, and washes as much as it fills. Theres minerality, and Id hazard a guess that there will be more in a few years, but its an ungenerous walk on the tart side at the moment. (9/10)
Trimbach 2005 Ribeauvill Pinot Gris Rserve (Alsace) Big. All the expected elements are there, but the wine just cant quite support its own weight. Finishes a little hot. Theres so much stuff here that Id be tempted to recommend the calming effects of age, but I just dont know about the sheer leadenness of the wine. (9/10)
Trimbach 2004 Ribeauvill Pinot Gris Rserve (Alsace) The non-prestige bottlings from Trimbach in 2004 have been uniformly excellent, for whatever reason, and this is no exception. When this wine is on, theres a beautiful poise between the rounded pear fruit, dark iron-quartz minerality, spice, and acidity thats still not crisp, exactly, but is more than sufficient to carry the rest of the package. Really nice, and showing absolutely no change from a year ago. Holding it might prove rewarding, but I guess well see. (9/10)
Barms Buecher Crmant dAlsace Brut (Alsace) Restrained, salty, tonic-like. Very, very clean, hinting at bitter citrus but delivering only a fraction of what it suggests it might. Nice. (11/10)
Sipp Mack 2004 Riesling Vieilles Vignes (Alsace) Soft minerality, just barely enough acidity to compensate, and a wide, planar texture. Quite fair. (9/10)
Sipp Mack 2007 Riesling Vieilles Vignes (Alsace) Juicy. Theres a certain softness to this bottling that carries though vintages, but the modulating acidity is almost always just enough to keep it fresh. This is young enough that its minerality, bare-boned and stark, still lies beneath primary layers of ground cover. Give it some time in the cellar; a few years, maybe. (9/10)
Trimbach 2001 Gewurztraminer (Alsace) Dying. Ive heard fond words about a recently-consumed early-eighties version, but this is on its last amputated leg. (10/10)
Trimbach 2004 Riesling (Alsace) More advanced than other bottles from the same source (me), and were the others not in full song Id say this is a little past ready. Probably just cork variation. Dryer than dry, showing unadorned raw iron and not a whole lot else. Well, acid, but thats a given here. (11/10)
Trimbach 2002 Riesling (Alsace) Doing way better than the 2001 regular, which is a little surprising, but perhaps bodes well for the domaine wines from this vintage, which were not as trifurcated as they were in 2001. Metal, melting and molten, over coal, lead, and a chilly magma core. In other words, the usual mineral-fest. Quite appealing, but I wouldnt hold it longer than the days necessary to drink whats left. (10/10)
Trimbach 2002 Riesling (Alsace) Not as intact as my previous bottle, and Im quite happy to be near the end of what was once a considerable stash. Very acidic, and while theres molten steel, there has been considerable erosion thereof, leading to a core thats mostly just puckering. (11/10)
Trimbach 2001 Riesling (Alsace) Very tenuous, barely clinging to a flaky, eroded metallic life. Drink up by the end of 2007. (Oops!) (10/10)