Marc Kreydenweiss Riesling-Pinot Gris Clos du Val d'Eleon, Alsace, France

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A fascinating nose suggesting lime, avocado, pumpkin, and peach in the Kreydenweiss Riesling-Pinot Gris 2009 Clos du Val d’Eleon anticipates the flavors on a smoke tinged, subtly creamy, yet appealingly juicy palate. An iris-like inner-mouth floral perfume adds allure to a wine less overtly ripe in character but at the same time considerably more intriguing than most of its vintage, finishing with subtle mineral nuances in a quiet interaction with flowers and persistently juicy fruit. Antoine Kreydenweiss is now running his family’s Alsace domaine on an ongoing basis, while his father Marc concentrates on their property in the Costieres de Nimes. I was dismayed – especially in view of such high-quality 2009s and 2008s – to learn that this justly-renowned domaine for the time being no longer has a U.S. importer. Most of the 2008s received 15 months’ elevage. The 2009s were all harvested early even by vintage standards and harbor nuances not found in most Alsace wines of their vintage, being at times capable – as Antoine Kreydenweiss had remarked of his 2008s – of projecting a sense of their sites without obviously revealing their varietal identity. I did not taste several slowly-evolving 2009s, including a Clos Rebberg Pinot Gris that was still fermenting when I visited last November.No current U.S. importer.

Kreydenweiss’s Riesling-Pinot Gris blend has long fascinated me, but there has not been a more intriguing or delicious installment than the 2008 Clos du Val d’Eleon, which is close to half each. Layers of toasted almond and hazelnut; Riesling-like lime and grapefruit allied to ripe peach, play on a substrate of wet stone along with alkaline, saline, and somehow shimmeringly crystalline elements. Luscious and subtly creamy yet invigoratingly bright, this finishes with strikingly dynamic, almost kaleidoscopic interaction. “It was a good year for schiste, 2008,” notes Antoine Kreydenweiss with a satisfied smile – which you’ll have as much trouble wiping from your face as you do licking the stubborn cling of mineral “stuff” from your lips after you drink this beauty. I would look for 15-20 years of eloquence. Antoine Kreydenweiss is now running his family’s Alsace domaine on an ongoing basis, while his father Marc concentrates on their property in the Costieres de Nimes. I was dismayed – especially in view of such high-quality 2009s and 2008s – to learn that this justly-renowned domaine for the time being no longer has a U.S. importer. Most of the 2008s received 15 months’ elevage. The 2009s were all harvested early even by vintage standards and harbor nuances not found in most Alsace wines of their vintage, being at times capable – as Antoine Kreydenweiss had remarked of his 2008s – of projecting a sense of their sites without obviously revealing their varietal identity. I did not taste several slowly-evolving 2009s, including a Clos Rebberg Pinot Gris that was still fermenting when I visited last November.No current U.S. importer.