Ostertag continues to favor barriques for all of his Pinot Gris, and even his basic bottling of 2005 Pinot Gris only came out of barrel after ten months, immediately prior to bottling. Ripe peach, an obvious creamy, leesy character and a meld of varietal and barrel-borne spice are complemented by a shimmering sense of salty, chalky minerality. The finish of peach, grapefruit, brown spices and black pepper could almost come from Gruner Veltliner, but a Pinot Gris-typical smoked meat hangs over this from stem to stern.Andre Ostertag continues to render some of the most distinctively delicious and thought-provoking wines in Alsace. He now has 120 parcels among his 35 acres, and no grower of my acquaintance gives more thought to aesthetic and stylistic considerations when it comes to vinifying and assembling his many lots.Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524