Winter pear, under-ripe peach, cardamom, and fennel in the nose of Ostertag’s 2008 Pinot Gris Barriques segue into a bittersweet, satisfyingly juicy palate suggesting licorice and crisp-edge pear laced with brown spices, toasted almond, and wood smoke, all following in a quite mouth-watering finish. This ought to prove highly adaptable at table over the next 4-6 years. Andre Ostertag picked most of his 2008s in the second week of October – relatively early for that vintage – and only 8-10 days behind the period during which the bulk of his 2009s were brought in. “The central problem with 2009,” observes Ostertag, “was to achieve balanced dryness in the finished wines.” (He would exempt Gewurztraminer from that comment, because he always finishes it unapologetically sweet; though here too, as my tasting notes demonstrate, something to counterbalance residual sugar was wanting.) Ostertag calls 2008 “a classic vintage, in the manner of the 1980s (decade),” and on reflection came up with the vintage analogy that had most struck me, namely to 1988.Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524