Scents of lightly-baked apple and mirabelle distillate on the nose of the Beyer 2009 Riesling Comtes d’Eguisheim have their pip- and pit-tinged counterparts on a voluminous, subtly oily palate, with just enough fresh primary juiciness retained to lend the finish – which also evinces wet stone – some sense of refreshment. This is not the first very ripe, low-acid vintage in which it has struck me that the best available material might have been sacrificed to render an Ecaillers cuvee of adequate refreshment and minerality, thus leaving the Comtes d’Eguisheim a bit flat-footed. But Beyer insists that for the most part, as usual, the two bottlings rely on different parts of the site, this one on deeper, clay-rich soil. This might “l(fā)ive” for a dozen or more years, but I would be inclined to drink it over the next 6-8. Even in 2003, Marc Beyer and his team rendered a collection true to their domaine’s principles of dryness, acid-retention, and mineral expression, while for the most part avoiding alcoholic overload or flat-footedness. So I wasn’t surprised that they considered 2009 child’s play by comparison and fielded an often excellent if variable collection. “It was a vintage where you really had to wait,” says Marc Beyer of 2008, “but the fruit kept its acidity; eventually the maturity came up to over 13 (% natural alcohol); and the wines achieved a perfect balance.” Certainly the best of them did, at least. With their tendency to express volatile esters; their often big-boned and angular architecture; and their unapologetic absence of residual sugar, Beyer wines may well strike many of today’s oenophiles and writers as an anachronism, whereas for others of us, they are like a part of the profoundly beautiful village landscapes of Alsace to which we repeatedly return with a sense of comforting familiarity and the knowledge that their slow evolution will be as reliable as their adherence to a traditional style. But that is not meant to suggest that surprises are precluded, and in fact in both 2009 and 2008 there are a number of Beyer wines the likes of which I have difficulty recalling from this address or any other.Imported by Aveniu (A.V.) Brands, Baltimore, MD; tel. (410) 884-9463