Scents of overripe musk melon mingled with wood smoke in the Kreydenweiss 2009 Pinot Gris Lerchenberg lead into a lush palate full of cantaloupe, peach, and low-brightness, almost lightly-cooked manifestations of citrus. The smoky pungency persists, offering some sense of counterpoint or contrast to the ripe fruit, and while it is not terribly complex, this genuinely dry, full, but barely warm Pinot Gris should prove adaptable at table over the next half dozen or so years. 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.

Aromas of liver pate and musk melon mark the Kreydenweiss 2008 Pinot Gris Lerchenberg, which comes to the palate dry, ample, and creamy yet juicy and refreshing in a manner one experiences from this grape almost uniquely in 2008. The carnal, saline and generously juicy flavors of cantaloupe, apple, and lime offer lip-smacking persistence, while muskiness, mineral salts, and animal notes serve for lingering intrigue. Plan on employing this over the next dozen or so years. 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.