Bursin’s six-variety field blend 2006 L’As de B is surprisingly successful, smelling of apricot, litchi, mint, green tea, and brown spices; offering a subtly creamy yet juicy, palate-caressing impression that seems to have been if anything heightened by malo-lactic transformation; and finishing with nutty richness and a faint hint of sweetness (from a mere 7 grams of residual sugar, but with low acidity). Enjoy this lip-smacker over the coming year. Agathe Bursin – for more about whom consult issue 175 – is one of Alsace’s major emerging talents, as witness her surprisingly fine showing in the difficult 2006 vintage. Bursin’s 2007 vintage Rieslings are comparatively firm, though they may well blossom short-term, and as usual she has scored impressive results with Gewurztraminer.A Thomas Calder Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 011-33-1-46-45-15-29