2006 Boxler Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg

Consumed over two days. Paired with a seafood risotto the first night. Upon opening and pouring a golden, mature color, orange rind, light lemon zest and minerals on the nose, hinting at corresponding flavors on the palate. To taste, lemon and orange rind, a slight but perceptible sweetness, slate and mineral flavors enveloped in a round, fairly creamy and rich but not overbearing mid-weight wine. It has a fairly dense, compacted quality, opening up over the next two hours. Day two’s profile very similar but rounder , with less mystery and noticeably less acidity. Compared to other dry Grand Cru Alsatian Riesling (Boxler’s in particular) this wine is an enjoyable, mature drink best for consuming between now and 2017. It does not have the linear focus and petrol of Boxler’s best, but it is quite enjoyable and in my opinion, at its plateau.
 
Welcome Mike!

Sounds good. I don't drink much Boxler but hear good things.

So in your view petrol is one of the key elements for Boxler's best? So many other folks view it as a 'flaw', or at the very least as an annoyance.
 
There are several Sommerbergs most vintages. Which one was this?

Aging Boxler is like folding origami - it doesn't make sense until it suddenly does.
 
you are right Yixin, the Boxler Riesling in question was the Dudenstein. As for Raashan I'm new to this description game, but in my humble estimation a slight bit of petrol can provide a nice interplay with tangier, sweeter flavors often found in larger scaled Alsatian rieslings. But what do I know?

Thanks for your responses.
 
originally posted by Michael G. Hanchard:
...in my humble estimation a slight bit of petrol can provide a nice interplay with tangier, sweeter flavors often found in larger scaled Alsatian rieslings. But what do I know?
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Hey, everyone has his own tastes.

I'm not one of the anti-petrol people. But I also wouldn't go so far as to say it's an ideal element that I actively seek.

Regardless, nice to see you're drinking well.
 
As I've gotten older, I've found myself growing more sensitive to certain non-fruit elements in wine. Mint is CalCabs I now find overwhelming more often than not, and pencil lead in Boredeau does the same for me these days. In Riesling, especially of the trocken sort, petrol notes can prove problematic these days. As I'm fairly sure that my olfaction is no more sensitive now than previously (quite the contrary I suspect) my only explanation for this latter-day sensitivity is that, as my ability to smell fruity aromas has declined, non-fruity smells have taken on greater significance. Arguing against this is that earthy, leathery, Bretty, herbaceous and mineral notes are still just as attractive to me now as ever, so who knows WTF is really going on.

Mark Lipton
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
originally posted by Sharon Bowman:
originally posted by MLipton:
Mint is CalCabs
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How 'bout eucalyptus?...
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I call Lipton, eucalyptus.
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You East Coasters and your Eucalyptus'. I know eucalyptus, eucalyptus was a friend of mine, and sir this is no eucalyptus.. Seriously, the only wine I can recall that truly smelled of eucalyptus was Heitz Martha's and Bella Oaks, but there was a freakin' eucalyptus grove abutting the vineyards. I will admit, though, that others have called eucalyptus when I've got mint. They coexist on the monoterpene axis of the flavor wheel.

Clear as mud, right?
Mark Lipton
 
Ha ha ha ha, I was thinking of Heitz Martha's when I dared pose the question. And I knew someone who had a vengeance against the bloody koala-eatin' things. (Don't let's talk about a porcino found beneath, to consternation and also mycological bewilderment. (It also tasted bad.))
 
originally posted by MLipton:
Seriously, the only wine I can recall that truly smelled of eucalyptus was Heitz Martha's and Bella Oaks, but there was a freakin' eucalyptus grove abutting the vineyards. I will admit, though, that others have called eucalyptus when I've got mint. They coexist on the monoterpene axis of the flavor wheel.
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There was also the infamous bottle of 1990 "Orion". What Chris did not record was that everyone in the room lost all composure following Manuel's pronouncement and it took several minutes to restore order.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
There was also the infamous bottle of 1990 "Orion". What Chris did not record was that everyone in the room lost all composure following Manuel's pronouncement and it took several minutes to restore order.
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Now that you mention it, I do recall getting eucalyptus in a Sean Thackery wine, too. IIRC, it arose for the same reasons (eucalyptus trees nearby in quantity).

Mark Lipton
 
originally posted by MLipton:
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
There was also the infamous bottle of 1990 "Orion". What Chris did not record was that everyone in the room lost all composure following Manuel's pronouncement and it took several minutes to restore order.
Click to expand...

Now that you mention it, I do recall getting eucalyptus in a Sean Thackery wine, too. IIRC, it arose for the same reasons (eucalyptus trees nearby in quantity).
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Right you are. I seem to recall Thackrey mentioning it in some magazine at the time.
 
Thackrey denies the presence of eucalyptus in his wines, despite the fact that his winery is actually situated within a eucalyptus grove.

"Regarding the common descriptor so often used for his wines, Thackrey says, 'I’ll get a resinous quality, but never eucalyptus.'"

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blogs.gangofpour.com
 
originally posted by Zachary Ross:
Thackrey denies the presence of eucalyptus in his wines, despite the fact that his winery is actually situated within a eucalyptus grove.

"Regarding the common descriptor so often used for his wines, Thackrey says, 'I’ll get a resinous quality, but never eucalyptus.'"

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blogs.gangofpour.com
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OK, so he can't smell it. Genotypes vary. But Kermit can: "...the unmistakable Thackrey eucalyptus note..."
 
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