Domaine Dirler-Cade Muscat Spiegel, Alsace Grand Cru, France

凱德酒莊明鏡麝香干白葡萄酒

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From a parcel of Ottonel with perhaps 20% of Muscat petit grain inter-planted, the Dirlers’ 2008 Muscat d’Alsace Spiegel smells of fresh apricot, orange blossom, and mint; comes to the palate infectiously juicy with added aspects of musk melon; and persists with a sort of refreshment unfortunately rare in its genre. There isn’t the riveting, ravishing mineral dimension that makes the corresponding Saering so exciting, but if you can score some bottles of this in lieu of that, it will prove more than mere consolation. Put this uncommonly elegant and vivacious Muscat through its paces over the next 6-8 years. As usual chez Dirler, I was forced during my most recent visit to take a slightly abbreviated tour of the two most recent collections on account of this family’s sheer multitude of bottlings, but it is clear from their 2008s that this remains one of the most frequently exciting – and generally consistent – sources of wine in Alsace, making it unfortunate that one doesn’t see Dirler-Cade wines more often in the U.S. Moreover, this is an estate that’s rendering highly distinctive; often deliciously unorthodox; but never fashion-pandering innovations while retaining a clear and constant vision of how the classic cepages of Alsace should perform in sites that can boast some of the longest – not to mention most-deserved – reputations of any in their region. All this having been noted, 2009 was a challenge even here: sometimes well-met, but seldom entirely surmounted. Rieslings were being harvested as early as mid-September, and Jean Dirler observes that had he cut back the crop on his Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer rather than allowing bunches to remain abundant, he would really have had a problem with sky-high potential alcohol. (For more on the Dirlers’ sites and methods, consult my reports on earlier vintages.)Importer: Robert Chadderdon Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 757-8185

The overwhelmingly Ottonel 2007 Muscat d'Alsace Spiegel smells delightfully of ripe apricot, orange blossom and zest, basil and mint. Faintly oily on the palate yet with lovely lift (at only 12.3% alcohol), it finishes with invigorating pungency and cooling refreshment, hints of tangerine rind, coffee, salt, and chalk adding further interest to a classic of its type that will prove terrifically versatile over the next 6-8 years. it's not often you get such sheer finishing juiciness in a Muscat d-Alsace (for which Dirler credits in part his biodynamic regimen) - nor for that matter, even at this address, is one any longer truly dry. Jean-Pierre Dirler was another of those growers to express delight at the 2007 vintage with its wide window of harvest opportunities, but to have sold off or declassified much of his family's production in 2006. It bears repeating that this estate's international profile is not nearly as high as is the quality of wine that have issued from it routinely since at least the mid-1980s, when I first visited here. I did not, unfortunately, have chance to taste quite the entire 2007 Dirler-Cade collection, and canvassed only a small selection of their in any event diminished number of 2006s.Importer: Robert Chadderdon Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 757-8185

Dirler's Muscat from the Saering was declassified into a generic bottling that I have not tasted, but their 2006 Muscat d'Alsace Spiegel gives a lovely account of itself, with sage, basil, and subtly integrated mushroom aromas; a juicy and engaging palate of lime, apricot, and herbs; and a clean, refreshing finish. Enjoy this versatile wine over the next couple of years. Year after year, this estate is able to capture the saliva-inducing, primary juiciness that eludes a majority of dry Muscat wines, whether they are from Alsace, Styria, the Pfalz, the Languedoc and Roussillon, or one of the other few wine regions where this category of wine is grown. Enjoy this one over the next year or two. Jean-Pierre Dirler was another of those growers to express delight at the 2007 vintage with its wide window of harvest opportunities, but to have sold off or declassified much of his family's production in 2006. It bears repeating that this estate's international profile is not nearly as high as is the quality of wine that have issued from it routinely since at least the mid-1980s, when I first visited here. I did not, unfortunately, have chance to taste quite the entire 2007 Dirler-Cade collection, and canvassed only a small selection of their in any event diminished number of 2006s.Importer: Robert Chadderdon Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 757-8185

The 2005 Muscat d’Alsace Spiegel is a product of late harvest and long fermentation (neither unusual at this address), but like the typical Muscat d’Alsace of today (and atypically for Dirler) it stopped with noticeable sweetness (and nearly 2% less alcohol than the 2004). Bright lemon and orange citrus nicely compliment this wine’s 25 grams residual sugar, and pure apricot nectar laced with mint lead to a refreshing, satisfying finish. If you want your Muscat dry-tasting, feel free to hold this for as long as 8-10 years.So enormous is the range of wines nowadays grown at the combined Dirler and Cade domaine that I did not have the time to taste them all. (All of those I did taste are at least mentioned in the text.) Along with the involvement of the new generation – Jean Dirler and his wife Ludivine (nee Cade) – the entire domaine has been farmed biodynamically since 1998 (and parts of the Kessler and Kitterle with horse), a factor the family thinks especially beneficial given the climatic extremes that have prevailed in recent years. Riesling and Pinot Gris are generally fermented in foudre here, and other whites usually in tank. Very few families of Alsace wine have exhibited long-term the consistent quality and age-ability one can expect of those bottled under the Dirler name.Importer: Robert Chadderdon Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 757-8185