As with the 2004 rendition of this wine, residual sugar in the 2005 Pinot Gris Rosenberg Calcarous takes the edge off alcoholic heat that detracts from the enjoyment of too many other Barmes renditions of this variety. Forward, peachy aromatics and fruit ally with a creamy texture and honeyed suggestion of botrytis for a wine of opulence that does not forsake its fundamental duty to supply juicy refreshment. A strong finish suggests the chalky orgins in the wine’s name. With a few years in bottle this may gain complexity, and certainly the sweetness will back off a bit, for those of us who are so out of step with Alsace fashion as to prefer drinking a dry-tasting Pinot Gris with meals. The affable Francois Barmes vocally advocates biodynamic viticulture and earlier harvesting to achieve balanced wines of juicy fruit and digestabilite. That said, more than a few of those I tasted were big-bodied to say the least, and certain of them could not handle their alcohol.Importer: Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ; tel. (856) 608 9644; also, a Thomas Calder Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 011-33-1-46-45-15-29.

From the botrytis-susceptible, chalky lower reaches of this site, the 2004 Pinot Gris Rosenberg Calcarius features aromas and flavors of spiced dried apple and peach, palpable chalkiness, and slight smokiness, and a broad, somewhat sweet, and rich – if texturally slightly coarse – finish. The affable Francois Barmes vocally advocates biodynamic viticulture and earlier harvesting to achieve balanced wines of juicy fruit and digestabilite. That said, more than a few of those I tasted were big-bodied to say the least, and certain of them could not handle their alcohol.Importer: Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ; tel. (856) 608 9644; also, a Thomas Calder Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 011-33-1-46-45-15-29.