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Five from Alsace Domaine Weinbach 2010 Riesling Cuvée Ste Catherine Made from 45-year-old vines, smoky nose with an underlying, shy minerality opening up to rose and spice. Opulent in the mouth, fruity and full-bodied. VINEYARD BRANDS Gustave Lorentz 2011 Gewurtztraminer Reserve Gold yellow, rich tropical nose. Lots of layers in the mouth: spice ginger, mango, pineapple. Opulent and rich but very dry. Drink all night! QUINTESSENTIAL Trimbach 2006 Riesling Clos Ste. Hune The holy grail of Riesling! Clean & spicy nose opening up to a wildly exotic wine with marzipan, blood orange on the palate. Long aging will make it only better. PALM BAY INTERNATIONAL Schlumberger 2009 Pinot Gris Les Princes Abbés Some smoke on the nose hinting at good minerality. Earthy and full-bodied with ripe stone fruits and then layering into sweet, denser flavors like baked apples and quince with some spice. This wants a rich accompaniment on the table. PHOTO: LANA BORTOLOT PHOTO: LANA BORTOLOT Some Alsatian winemakers are including a sweetness scale on the label, similar to that developed by the International Riesling Foundation and used by major wineries in Rieslingproducing regions. Whereas IRF's scale rates the wines as dry, medium dry/sweet or sweet, Alsace created a numeric scale of 1 to 9, with 1 being bone dry and 9 very sweet. But when each winemaker creates his or her With acid, style and lovely balance, Alsace own interpretation of sweetRieslings are superb food wines. ness, consumers don't have a standard, especially if they're already time to express themselves." familiar with the IRF scale. "We are Another issue: Many consumers trending back to dry," said Hugel, "But believe Alsace wines are sweet, like the worst you can do is confuse people. their German cousins. It's a huge difOnce you've lost your aficionados, it's ferentiation point for Alsace Rieslings hard to get them back again." in particular, which are dry. It's a point Alsace wines may never be the go-to of frustration for winemakers such wine for certain consumers. It's rare as Jean Trimbach, whose 1626 family to find a bottle at less than $10, and it estate in Ribeauville is known throughtakes a certain effort to figure out the out the world for its characteristically extraordinary offerings—most of the dry Rieslings. Indeed, his high-end crémants hover at the $20 price point, Clos Ste. Hune is a cult classic among yet taste like a bottle twice as costly. acid hounds. And the price for an Alsace grand cru Poured a 2010 Classic Riesling, a $20 is far less than other grand cru regions. bottle, Trimbach says, "This is what But producers believe their wines will Riesling should taste like in Alsace: full of acid, balance, elegance and energy— resonate with consumers who are seeking honest, well-crafted wines. and bone-dry." Trimbach doesn't use Says Maurice Barthelme, who, with malolacitic fermentation, and the wines his brother Jacky, runs the biodynamic are fermented to less than five grams Domaine Albert Mann, "Alsace needs of residual sugar. Still, aside from the support. We work in a traditional way, cult drinkers, he must contend with the but it is the wine of the future." sweet spot—and the sore spot. MAISONS MARQUES & DOMAINES Catherine Faller of Domaine Weinbach (1612) says Alsace wines should be more recognized for their aging potential and versatility with foods, but winemakers should look to their German neighbors for lessons in marketing. "If we are not proud of what we're doing," she says, "how can we promote our wines?" Marcel Deiss 2008 Engelgarten Premier Cru A smoky and quirky blend: very aromatic with spicy orange zest and eucalyptus. On the palate, more minerality than expected, dry and tasting of fall fruits. ANGELS' SHARE WINE IMPORTS january 2013 / the tasting panel / 103