Peach preserves, candied grapefruit rind, white truffle, white raisin, and butterscotch scent the Bott-Geyl 2008 Pinot Gris Sonnenglanz Selection de Grains Nobles and inform a glycerin-rich palate, with nearly 200 grams of residual sugar facing off against measurably strong acidity; the bitter elements of grapefruit peel; and an imponderable sense of high extract. Even so, there is a certain amount of residual stickiness to this wine’s confectionary finish, and one will have to be willing to wait for 20 years, I suspect, to witness any significant diminution of that impression. “For me it was not a classic year for V.T. or S.G.N.,” says Jean-Christophe Bott of 2009. “There was very little botrytis, and when we started picking it was with the aim to make the best possible normal range. I found most of the Gewurztraminer very aromatic and fruity, but soft and lacking the depth of their sites; too much on the varietal side, so I preferred to mostly declassify, and also because in 2008 we had a great vintage whose wines really taste of their sites.” My judgment on 2008 is qualified. Detached tartness and decidedly fungal overtones suggest that in some instances fruit had to be harvested lest it succumb to botrytis. A measure of that fungal advance is that the nobly sweet wines in the present collection are enormously high in sugar and quite strongly marked by botrytis, yet represent the product of picking entire blocks rather than bunch-selection.Various importers, including Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 559 1040 and Winebow, Montvale, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620

White raisin, honey, caramel, grapefruit, apricot preserve and a distinct note of mushrooms rise from an almost coppery glass of Bott’s 2005 Pinot Gris Sonnenglanz Selection de Grains Nobles. While this is viscous and sweet, it displays a surprisingly and welcome citricty and exuberant juiciness that carry successfully into its long, multi-faceted finish. In addition to wondering how long it will take for a wine like this to digest some of its sheer sweetness, I would watch out for the possibility that overtly fungal elements – for now a fascinating part of the wine’s complexity – might later dominate in a less than noble way. Young Jean-Christophe Bott is passionate about quality and unafraid to make sacrifices on its behalf. He has adopted a biodynamic regimen in the vineyards and is now holding most of his wines 6-24 months in bottle before release. Clarity and cleanliness run through all of these, and it is encouraging to taste so many Riesling that are uncompromisingly dry (although occasionally bitterness or alcohol intrude). Bott feels capable of encouraging dryness and balance in various ways in the vineyard and the cellar without ever intervening in or attempting to re-start sluggish fermentations. By no means all of the wines I tasted displayed strong personalities, but many of them gave reason to believe – as does Bott’s articulate advocacy – that this will be one of the more talked-about Alsace domains of the coming decade. Given the challenges that so many of his fellow-growers recorded with this variety in 2004, his success in bringing Gewurztraminer to subtly-ennobled ripeness in that vintage – while taking advantage of higher than usual acidities – is especially noteworthy.Importer: Eric Solomon Selections, Charlotte, NC; tel. (704) 358-1565

Sweet botrytis can be discerned in as yet unformed aromas of the huge, hyper-concentrated 2000 Pinot Gris Sonnenglanz Selection de Grains Nobles. This head-turner has searing acidity to match its creamy, velvety-textured peach and apricot-dominated character. It is extremely sweet, luxurious, and has a remarkable finish. Projected maturity: 2007-2030.The youthful Jean-Christophe Bott, this winery's winemaker and director, believes 2000 "is not an exceptional vintage, yet is outstanding. The last extraordinary year we had was 1990. That being said, the 2000s all have beautiful richness of fruit and some have excellent acidity."Importer: European Cellars, Eric Solomon, Charlotte, NC; tel. (704) 358-1565; A Peter Vezan Selection, Paris fax #011-33-1-42-55-42-93