bottle 64761-272
@home

Summary:
Phenomenal integrated, honeyed, waxy nose with a hint of botrytis character. Rich palate balanced with some phenolic bitterness on the finish.

Score: around 9.

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Full Sensory
Visual:
White wine, clear, day-bright.
Medium gold with reflections of copper and straw, moderate concentration.
No gas or sediment.
Moderate tears.

[taste: some RS: Off-dry.]

Nose:
Moderate plus intensity with a touch of heat from alcohol, clean.
Floral white peach (ripe and underripe), nectarine type fruit, with savory beeswax, grapefruit pith (bitter), faint touch of botrytis (saffron). On the back-end there is reliably a spritz of tartness - citrusy, and underripe pear. There is a touch of terpenic nature - melon, rose, lychee, tropical fruits, but it is decidedly a background aroma layer.
The overall character is savory with a honeyed character, though there is fruit of good depth, quality, and ripeness.
No evidence of oak aging.
The nose has a lovely complexity, and is developing.

Palate:
Off-dry. There’s a touch of residual sugar (I’ve read the threshold is around 10g/L… maybe this is 20-30? well above threshold but not at the sugary level. ).
Medium plus body, medium plus alcohol (13-13.5%).
Savory ripe peach, nectarine fruit, then beeswax, honey, and underripe pear.
No evidence of oak on the palate.
Moderate acidity - enough to keep it lively but not an acid-driven wine.
A distinct phenolic bitterness, especially on the finish.
The balance is rich, structured by acid and phenolic bitterness, but emphasizing body, alcohol, viscosity.
Finish is long. Acid drops out but there’s honey, beeswax, ripe nectarine, and phenolic bitterness.

Conclusion:
Given only two wines, and I know what they are, this is shooting fish in a barrel, but I’ll try to be specific:
Old World style (I probably would have gotten this on the primarily savory nature of the nose), Moderate climate or warm vintage.
France > Alsace > Pinot Gris > Albert Boxler
It’s from a warmer vintage (acidity isn’t as developed) [Yes- 2009!], and the alcohol is around 13% [Close! 13.5%]
There was no significant oak used in vinification - maybe neutral barrels.
I would like a touch more acid, but then I always do. Really, this doesn’t need it. Between the moderate lively acid and the phenolic bitterness, it’s balanced.
Given the quality and complexity I’m guessing Haut-Rhin? (I have no idea and I don’t think this was a Grand Cru).
This makes me think of candles in the chapel at Mission San Juan Bautista at dusk in summer.
Pairing with Red Hawk: * (worked well, both showed well - not magical but very good).

Actual:
Albert Boxler 2009 Pinot Gris Reserve. Robert Chadderdon selections.
13.5% alcohol.
Grand Crus: Sommerberg, Brand (mid-Haut-Rhin, near Colmar).
Soil: Granite

Notes on the 2009 Vintage, from Romana Echensperger (GuildSomm):
"2009: Outstanding vintage - very healthy grapes and therefore pure varietal character – heat wave in summer could have caused in very poor soils some hydric stress.
Overall less acidity than 2008."

bottle 64761-278
@home

Summary:
Dry with elevated alcohol (13%) and high acidity. A bit thin in midpalate and aromatics for that level of alcohol. Strong acid (significant tartness) on the finish. Overall a bit lean and hot.

Score: Between 8.5 and 9

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Full Sensory:

Visual:
Clear, day-bright (slightly brighter than the first wine).
Bright straw in the glass with reflections of lemon yellow and green.
No gas or sediment.
Light tears.

[taste - dry]

Nose:
Moderate intensity, clean.
The “Beach Ball” note makes sense to me! I definitely get a beach ball / shower curtain / petrol (TDN: 1,1,6-trimethyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene). It presents as a whiff of plasticky pool toy to me - images of pools and inflatable toys). Primary aromas of ripe Meyer lemon, dried lemon, dried orange, beeswax.
Secondary aromas of petrol/pool toy, cheese rind - a sheepsmilk cheese like Ossau-Iraty or Petit Basque. N1 (light sniff off the top) is the best on this - sweet and ripe lemony flavors.
Primarily savory, driven by ripe lemon and wax. There’s an implied earthiness that permeates this and the last wine, as if the wine is real, detailed, analog, organic, non-airbrushed, continuous instead of discrete.
No evidence of oak.
This wine is complex and developing.

Palate:
Dry. Medium body, medium alcohol (12.5-13) that feels hot in the context of this wine.
The palate overall seems a bit lost in alcohol, though there are moderate intensity flavors of ripe lemon and wax on the midpalate. No oak evidence.
Acidity is high - a nice push of strong, energetic, tartaric acid at the start of the finish followed by a modest pucker of malic acid.
No tannins or impression of phenolic bitterness.
Finish is moderate plus in length, with the lemony waxy character continuing with malic acid. I’m not so much a fan of the way this finishes, or the somewhat hot nature of the midpalate, but it is balanced in a particular way.
The balance seems to me analogous to nebbiolo - floral and high-toned in aroma and flavor, but with some alcoholic heat and acidic punch.

Conclusion:
This has to be the ’07 Riesling. I’ll say a bit more:
Old world style based on the acid profile and the overall savory nature. Seems cooler in climate than the Pinot Gris, though that could be varietal.
France > Alsace > Riesling > Hugel
It’s from a cooler vintage - the acidity is high.
Alcohol is 12.5% [Close! 13%]
Overall I don’t particularly enjoy the dry, higher-alcohol expression of Riesling that this embodies. I think I much preferred the lower-alcohol Weingut Knoll riesling (Wachau, Austria).
This makes me think of a quiet folk singer struggling with a cold and a slight pitch problem. It just isn’t able to sing clearly.

Actual:
2007 Hugel et Fils Riesling “Jubilee”
13% Alcohol
6.5 g/L RS
7.7 g/L TA
Grand Cru: Sporen (top of the Haut-Rhin, just south of Ribeauville)
Soil: stony clay-marl

Other notes:
2007 Vintage, from Romana Echensperger (GuildSomm):
"2007: Very good classical vintage. Very long ripening period and no excessive rain."