The Bursin 2006 Riesling Zinnkoepfle is among those sweet vendange tardive wines of this vintage that do not meet the official requirements of that category for having in the haste of harvest not been declared as such in advance. Musky, sweet perfume of peony mingles with scents of ripe apricot and brown spices in the nose. A glossy, silken-textured, richly-concentrated palate is underlain by stony and alkaline mineral suggestions and not in the least obscured by its well-integrated sweetness. I’d plan on enjoying it over the next 7-10 years. This got picked with only a moderate presence of botrytis, explains Bursin, and before things got out of hand. To my palate, this year’s Pinot Gris Zinnkoepfle illustrated the latter, with dusty, smoky, musty botrytis and some drying and bitterness dragging it down. 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