Despite having the highest must weight and incidence of botrytis, the parcel that informed Bursin’s 2006 Gewurztraminer Zinnkoepfle Selection de Grains Nobles was picked no later or more selectively than her others. Litchi, apricot preserves, wood smoke, licorice, mint, and cinnamon on the nose inform a correspondingly multifarious palate, joined there by pineapple and nougat. For all of its creamy richness and confectionary sweetness, this preserves an attractive sense of lift as well as deep carnal notes in its long finish, and it should be worth following for the better part of two decades.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