Albert Boxler Riesling Sommerberg Vendange Tardive, Alsace Grand Cru, France

點(diǎn)擊次數(shù)：1828

A heady, esterous nose of over-ripe cantaloupe, white peach, quince preserves, and fading lily informs the Boxler 2009 Riesling Sommerberg Vendange Tardive – harvested in the Dudenstein soon after the “regular” bottling from that site – leading to a lush and soothing palate on which quince preserves, peach, nutmeg, and liquefied lily are well-supported by sweetness. There is a fine sense of primary juiciness that – along with hints of fruit pit bitterness – helps moderate the sweetness of a sedate finish slightly less sustained and more diffuse than that of the corresponding “regular” bottling. Expect this to age well for at least 12-15 years. Jean Boxler relates that in 2009 he picked some parcels of young wines early due to stress, then sold off the juice; and any under 15 years’ age he didn’t even bother to pick. Eventually, when he harvested his older vines and best sites, the sugar levels were the same – but not the flavors. He deftly charted a course with most of the resulting wines between alcohol and residual sugar, but to the extent it was unavoidable, sinned on the side of sweetness. From 2008, almost predictably given the track record at this address, Boxler rendered sharply focused, minerally complex, yet seductively fruit-filled wines that should prove excellent both as keepers and as partners with cuisine. Boxler compares these wines with his 2002s and finds then “definitely more interesting than the 2001s.” While most of the 2008s finished fermenting already by Christmas – which is par for the course chez Boxler – he points out that several of the extraordinary wines from the Brand lingered into spring. (For some detail on among other things Boxler’s different Riesling parcels, see my report in issue 188.)Importer: Robert Chadderdon Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 757-8185

The 2004 Riesling Sommerberg D Vendange Tardive smells of peaches and apricots, butter cream and vanilla. Overtly creamy, silken, and rich on the palate, but possessed as well of a distinctive sense of underlying stony mineral density, it scarcely betrays its 60 grams of residual sugar. Peach, apricot kernel, nut oils, and vanilla, salt and stone linger with amazing persistence. This is easily a candidate for a dozen or more years in the cellar. But as it has nowhere near the delicacy, brightness, or lift of the 2005 Riesling Sommerberg D Vendage Tardive, I would wait several years before even re-visiting it. The domaine of Albert Boxler – where son Jean has been calling the shots for several years now – has long exhibited a consistency and quality that very few other wineries in France – much less Alsace – can equal, and that is demonstrated not just by their superb results with “noble” varieties in less than easy vintages, but already at the ostensibly “l(fā)ow end” of the varietal spectrum, where one can only wish there were more estates rendering wines of such delicious distinction. (Inexplicably, Boxler did not offer me a taste of his Chasselas or his Muscat – both of which can often be outstanding of their sort – and after this occurred to me, I was too pressed for time to make up for the omission at the end of our session.)Importer: Robert Chadderdon Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 757-8185