Alsace Wine

Expert Review

Anne Krebiehl MW writes:  The 2022 Pinot Blanc Auxerrois Vieilles Vignes is made from vines that are between 60 and 75 years old, harvested in Colmar. Despite the name, this is pure Auxerrois. And since this is pure Auxerrois, it is allowed to carry this designation on the label. White currant juiciness is mild but gently fruited on the nose, opening into clear Mirabelle juice and smooth, cool yeast and textured, round, mild and bone dry body with a nutty and pithy, subtle finish with much smoothness and serenity. (Bone-Dry)  Drinking 2024 to 2034.  - Vinous 90

Our Notes

This old vines Pinot Blanc Auxerrois comes from steep slopes near the town of Colmar. It is elegant, yet complex and rich.  Delicate yellow plum and white berry fruit intermingles with stony minerality and a subtle hint of spice.   Rand Sieger - 67 Wine Buyer

Winemaker Notes

Expert Reviews

Wine Enthusiast 90 Points | In this wine, a subtle palate of rye crumb, red apple and lemon follows a subued nose. A lovely balance of flavors shows on the slender palate, with the freshness and juiciness of ripe apple. Fine bubbles create resonance on the dry finish Foley Family Wines.

James Suckling 90 Points | Pretty nose of fresh strawberry, raspberry and orange blossom. Very bright on the medium-bodied palate, with a nice interplay of lively mousse with juicy fruit. Long, clean finish.

David Schildknecht of the Wine Advocate writes | While Albrecht's Pinot Blanc Cremant d'Alsace (a genre Lucien Albrecht was prominent in legally codifying) is delicious, it is a bit simple to count as a top value at $24, whereas their non-vintage Cremant d'Alsace Brut Rose - a pure Pinot Noir - is more intriguing and distinctive. Along with strawberry and red raspberry fruit suggestions that are enhanced by the wine's discreet hint of sweetness, there are saline, meaty, and herbal notes to add interest to both the nose and a lush palate, and the hints of salinity and bitterness in the finish make for an invigorating complement to the wine's prominent fruit. This comes in a light-sensitive clear bottle, and I could identify no lot number, so make sure that whoever sells you a bottle will take responsibility for freshness and proper storage. 

Winemaker Description

The flavors display nice strawberry and wild cherry fruit, with a touch of richness on the mid palate. It is balanced with dry, crisp acidity and complimented with a creamy texture and long finish.

Our Professional Review

A blend of 40% Pinot Gris, 35% Muscat, 25% Riesling.  This is one of my favorite Alsace whites because of its amazingly fragrant nose of flowers, that I think the Muscat and Pinot Gris brings to this wine.  It is like smelling great perfume and when it enters your mouth you taste all the complex flavors the three grape varieties bring to the wine with the acidity of the Riesling making it both lush and crisp at the same time.  There is a certain creaminess and lushness that this particular wine envelopes your mouth with that makes me just love it.  Bernie, Follow the Drinker®

Winemaker Description - Importer Notes 

"The Edelzwicker, is a rare blend (one of two produced by Boxler) and often features fruit from his grand cru parcels. Jean Boxler says, “To find the right balance for the Edelzwicker Réserve, I cannot hesitate to steal from my more prestigious cuvées.”  Think of this bottling as his musical supergroup. Its purpose is to showcase what an Alsatian white tastes like when some of the region’s best grapes—which usually shine on their own—come together and harmonize. The result is a floral, luscious, and medium-bodied masterpiece, with notes of orchard fruit and tangerine. Incredibly versatile at table, it would be a match made in heaven with Chris Lee’s soufflé or a baked fish with grilled vegetables, but it would also complement a variety of Chinese, Indian, or Thai dishes that have a little spice." - Kermit Lynch

Winemaker Description 

100% Gewurztraminer from estate fruit averaging 35 years-old. Certified Organic and Biodynamic. White wine. Alsace, France. The 2022 vintage expresses a powerful and complex bouquet of exotic fruits, flowers, and spices. The enveloping palate strikes a delicate balance between power and finesse.

Domaine Albert Mann is heralded the world over as being in the top-tier of Alsace producers. Using organic methods guided by biodynamic practices, the Domaine cultivates precisely controlled yields to obtain grapes of elevated maturity and complexity, resulting in wines that produce their own unique style. Never heavy, clumsy or out of balance, each carefully-crafted vintage presents a beautiful delineation of flavors and precise textures. Winemaker Description. 

Expert Review - Vintage 2022

The Wine Advocate 90+ Points | The 2022 Gewurztraminer Classic is very clear, fresh and precise on the pure and even coolish nose, although it comes from a super sunny and warm year. Peach, stones and in a rather discreet way also classical Gewürztraminer aromas on the nose lead to a round, lush and fresh, very elegant and balanced wine with a very long and salivating, even tensioned finish. It's quite complex and tastes dry, even though there are 12 grams of well-hidden residual sugar. 14.5% stated alcohol. 

Winemaker Description

Expert Review - Vintage 2018

Wine Spectator 91 Points | Distinctive and well-done, with a pronounced earthiness sharing the stage with notes of warm apple, quince and candied ginger in this late-release wine. Time has softened the acidity on a supple, savory palate, layering toasted brioche, brine and dried flower petal details. A hint of honey water graces the elegant, well-meshed finish. Drink now through 2028. 19,500 cases made, 3,000 cases imported.

Winemaker Description 

This Pinot-Gris shows some ripe fruits such as ripe pears and yellow peaches with a touch of smokiness, it is very pure and focused which makes it an ideal wine for the gastronomy. Impeccable, solar 2018 vintage with ripe and focused acidity - a dry Pinot Gris. A top seller in Alsace, ideal for all cuisines of the world.

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Expert Reviews - Vintage 2014

Stephan Reinhardt of the Wine Advocate writes 94+ Points | The 2014 Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile is highly complex on the clear, intense and smoky, lemony nose. Clear, fresh, straight and very mineral on the nose, this is a pure but complex, intense, stony Riesling that is pretty austere at the moment. Provided with racy acidity, but concentrated and mineral on the palate, this is exceptional dry Riesling with great tension. To be served in 10, 20 and even in 30 years.  Drinking 2025 to 2040. 

Ian D’Agata of Vinous writes 94+ Points | Vivid straw-green. Delicate nuances of jasmine and lemon verbena complicate aromas of green apple, lime and minerals. Pure and penetrating on the palate, boasting superb definition to the flavors of gin, mint, minerals, violet and lemon zest. The finish is remarkably crystalline and long. This Frédéric Emile is currently dominated by its Osterberg component (the cuvée is a blend of Osterberg and Geisberg grand cru grapes), which brings chiseled acidity, as opposed to the Geisberg’s ripe fruit personality and licorice quality. Despite the difficult year, this is likely to become a memorable Frédéric Emile. So much so, in fact, that it’s currently impossible to choose between it and the more famous Clos Sainte Hune.  Drinking 2022 to 2045.

James Suckling writes 96 Points | So much mineral and sliced apple character with hints of orange and apple peel. Turns to steely character. Full-bodied, racy and bright. So lively. Great finish. Drink or hold on release. 

Jeb Dunnuck writes 92+ Points | Coming close to a decade after the vintage, the 2014 Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile is still vivid and racy, with a taut, focused, almost austere style in its ripe citrus, crushed stone, hazelnut, and smoky mineral-driven aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied and nicely concentrated, with high yet integrated acidity, this needs another 4-5 years of bottle age, as it's currently austere, firm, and inward. It will be an incredibly long-lived Riesling, but how much pleasure it will ultimately deliver might be questionable.  Drinking after 2027. 

Alison Napjus of the Wine Spectator writes 95 Points | A bone-dry, racy white, with a lovely entry point of slate, petrol and brine aromas on the nose, plus a minerally profile that underscores notes of crunchy nectarine, kiwifruit, cherry blossoms, pink grapefruit pith and fresh thyme. Firm and linear, this graceful version exhibits seamless knit and definition. Drink now through 2039.  - Wine Spectator 95

Jancis Robinson writes 17.5+ Points | To be released around 2022 or 2023. Razor-sharp nose and very tight. Lots to chew on. They could release this and no one would object but I can see why they want it to unfurl a bit.  Drinking 2022 to 2035.  - Jancis Robinson 17.5+

Winemaker Description 

Importer Description 

This Pinot Blanc is a masterful display of subtlety and refinement. Honeysuckle, peaches, and stone don’t shout at, but whisper seductively to your nose and palate." - Kermit Lynch.

Coming from vines located mainly at the bottom of hillsides and on granite soil, this Pinot Blanc borders on insolence in its elegance and deliciousness. It is very far from the classic style that is often found in Alsatian Pinot Blancs, which is quite simple. Here, Jean Boxler has done a real job in the vineyards as well as in the winemaking where we feel a much finer and more mineral side.

On the palate, the attack is precise, there is, as with his Sylvaner, a beautiful maturity that brings a real delicacy. The wine has a sensual texture, very silky, no aggressiveness emerges.

This is really not just a simple Pinot Blanc, it is extraordinarily long, precise and delicious.

Winemaker Description 

The sunlight freely pours in Alsace. The vine rows and their fruit—shielded from stormy weather by the Vosges mountains—capture every ounce, creating a pleasantly perfumed, flowery, bold, modern, classic, totally unique, and ambrosially fascinating wine.

Producer Description 

In the glass there is a full color, deep, gold. Has yellow fruit with van toast and amandelen.

A full body followed by a thin length with full height.  A great gastronomic. 

Winemaker Description 

Pale yellow. Anised notes. Fine and flexible, fresh in the final. Fresh citrus fruit and herbs on the nose, powerful and mineral on the palate. 

Pair with shellfish, whitefish, sauerkraut.