Just about any French vineyard owner will talk terroir given the opportunity, but no one argues the case for terroir more passionately than Marcel Deiss. Should any readers be traveling to Alsace, Deiss is definitely a man worth visiting. All of his wines exhibit distinctive personalities. The 1993 Gewurztraminer Altenberg Vendange Tardive is even more awesomely endowed, with fabulous scents of honeyed grapefruits, oranges, lychee-nuts, and that unmistakable rose petal aroma. With a red wine, cherry-like fruitiness, this massive, deep, full-bodied, superbly concentrated, well-delineated wine is capable of 15+ years of cellaring. Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083

Just about any French vineyard owner will talk terroir given the opportunity, but no one argues the case for terroir more passionately than Marcel Deiss. Should any readers be traveling to Alsace, Deiss is definitely a man worth visiting. All of his wines exhibit distinctive personalities. The 1992 Gewurztraminer Altenberg Vendange Tardive (made from yields of two tons per acre) was picked at Grain Nobles richness, but fermented to a level that most consumers would consider off-dry. Extremely rich and full-bodied, with a honeyed lychee-nut-scented nose and dense, thick, viscous flavors, it possesses the requisite acidity to hold this powerhouse together. It can be drunk now or cellared for 15+ years. Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 832-9083

Deiss's 1991 Gewurztraminer-Altenberg Vendange Tardive is a rich, full-bodied, honey, flower, and grapefruit-scented wine, with superb depth, medium to full body, and excellent definition. Although it is not as flamboyant or ostentatious as Zind-Humbrecht and Domaine Weinbach's Gewurztraminers, it is an authoritatively rich wine for drinking over the next decade. Importer: Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC.