The 2005 Sylvaner Eminence is from vines in the Zinnkoepfle but not allowed to carry that designation since Sylvaner is deemed ignoble. This wine’s balance is different from that of the “regular” bottling: again, imposingly creamy and rich, but now with a decided element of sweetness that some tasters (this one included) find less than flattering to Sylvaner. That said, there is formidable material here: a dense, rich concentration of baked apple, nut oils, malt, lilac perfume, and wood smoke. Pungent smokiness and bitter suggestions of citrus rind and chalk are pitted against the wine’s rich fruit and sweetness in the finish. Agathe Bursin – whose inaugural vintage was 2000, prior to which her family sold their grapes to the local coop – is one of Alsace’s major emerging talents. Although this widely-traveled young viticultrice (her preferred title) farms fewer only ten acres and is already chronically sold out, she says she does not intend to increase production by more than another third, and then only over the long run. Bursin indicated she had more botrytis in 2005 than in 2004, even though she harvested quite late (and even though this is the opposite experience from that of Mure in neighboring Rouffach) because Westhalten’s clay-poor soils generally retain very little moisture.A Thomas Calder Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 011-33-1-46-45-15-29.