Alsace Masterclass

The Progress, SF
Tasted Thursday, May 14, 2015 by RajivAyyangar with 835 views

Introduction

A superb masterclass. Geoff Kruth (MS) is super-knowledgeable and analytical. It was a pleasure geeking out with everyone.

Link to my full notes: https://www.evernote.com/l/ABZmdXvhcr9DGphWs_l_FjUdM_XRq1CWIGo
My Alsace knowledge doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1whKeBPyR_o7mhyin4ZpZIZlbzFMA2EbBtkCGpQac6po/edit?usp=sharing

Evaluation of my own tasting:
1) Botrytis - I used to be sure - it was saffron. Now I’m getting a bit confused between saffron and waxiness, but I’m pretty confident. I correctly called it on the varietals flight.
2) TDN - I’m not good at this, and also it doesn’t seem super common - Geoff said he didn’t pick it up really on any of the Grand Cru Rieslings. I want to get better at this, but I don’t think it will ever be a major signal.
3) Alcohol - My perception was off. Maybe because the wines were a bit chilled. I felt like they all presented lower than they actually were. Learn to adjust for chill and to read the texture as well as do the blowing-out thing right after tasting.
4) Acid levels: I’m pretty good with this - recognizing ripping high acid by extended salivation.
5) RS Levels: Felt pretty good about this - think about the “pillow” on the tip of the tongue. Impression of sweetness. Keep in mind the sweetness can mute mid-to-late palate perception of acidity, though it shows on the finish.
6) Key strategy when tasting is asking questions of the wine, to reframe the query and make sense of the organoleptic mishmash:
e.g. “Is this primarily sweet or primarily savory?"
e.g. “Are these more Rose terpenes (Gewurz) or more orange oil terpenes (Muscat / Torrontes).
e.g. “Does this taste more like a $12 wine (Torrontes), or a $30 wine? (Muscat)
e.g. “Hipster or dentist?”
e.g. Are these green pyrazines, or stem inclusion?
e.g. Does this have pool-toy TDN?

Flight 1 - Cremants D'Alsace (3 Notes)

Really good wines, and half the price of Champagne. The best Cremants (non-champagne sparklers) in France.

  • NV Louis Sipp Crémant d'Alsace Brut 85 Points

    France, Alsace, Crémant d'Alsace

    Low intensity nose of delicious baguette and green apple. High acid. Very nice.

    Grapes: PB, Pinot Auxerrois, Chard., bit of Pinot Noir.
    Vineyards: around Ribeauville.
    Score: Around 8.5

    RS: ?
    alc: 11.4%
    pH: 3.02
    TA: 8.43 g/L
    No malolactic fermentation.

    $22

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  • NV Mélanie Pfister Crémant d'Alsace Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs Brut 85 Points

    France, Alsace, Crémant d'Alsace

    Medium plus intensity nose that has more savory baguette autolysis on the nose.
    High acid, dry (4g RS). Seems to have slightly weaker acid than the Sipp.
    Score: Around 8.5

    Grapes:50% chard. 25% PB, 25% Pinot Auxerrois

    RS: 4 g/L
    alc: 12.5%
    pH: ?
    TA: 6.4 g/L

    $26

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  • NV Domaine Allimant-Laugner Crémant d'Alsace Pinot Noir Rosé Brut 87 Points

    France, Alsace, Crémant d'Alsace

    Nose: Less autolysis than the previous two, a bit earthy, moderate minus intensity, with a bit of reductive red fruit (pinot?). This is lovely.
    Palate: A bit more luscious than the Sipp or Pfister. Kruth: “This shows the dosage a bit more than Champagne would.”

    This is so nice to drink, and at this price too!
    Score: between 8.5 and 9.
    $22

    Grapes: 100% Pinot Noir
    Soil: Granite

    RS: ?
    alc: 12.5%

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Flight 2 - AOC Varietal wines (4 Notes)

Good varietal expression. These AOC wines - even the basic ones, you can cellar them for 4-5 years and they age well, so it’s not a rush to sell them if you’re in a restaurant.

  • 2012 Domaines Schlumberger Pinot Blanc Les Princes Abbés 80 Points

    France, Alsace

    Nose: non-aromatic. Low intensity. Some ripe, indistinct peach - fermentation esters / vaguely sweet and floral (I’m connecting this to some other recent PGs I’ve tasted). GKruth: “all young white wines, pretty much, smell like white flowers because of fermentation esters. These aren’t actually varietal aromas.” Faint strawberry starburst.

    Palate: Light, fresh, balanced, neutral in a nice way.
    Light phenolic bitterness
    “GKruth: you need some bitterness on PB otherwise there’s just no taste :). But in seriousness, chardonnay is also relatively neutral, so you use new oak, or (in the case of Chablis) lees stirring (somewhat autolytic?).
    GKruth: “snuggle smell, fabric softener."
    Acid on PB: Lower than Riesling, higher than Gewurz.

    G. Kruth: Pinot Blanc is a nice neutral white wine - flexible for food pairing. Think about it when you want just a generic white wine to go with things.

    Score: Around 8.0: Totally neutral. Nice.

    30% / 70% Pinot Blanc/Auxerrois
    12.8% alc.
    2.88 g/L TA
    3.1 g/L RS

    Aged seven months on fine lees.
    $14 - So good for $14!

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  • 2012 Domaine Gresser Riesling Kritt 85 Points

    France, Alsace

    Summary: A nice, basic, varietally correct pinot. 8.5
    ----------------
    Full
    Ripe green apple, really faint TDN (they are controlling TDN as of late by canopy management - limiting sun exposure).
    In the mouth: Faint pillow of sweetness (6g RS), which limits the sensation of acid on the midpalate, but the screaming high acid wins out at the end, in the form of extended salivation. A mix of malic and tartaric.

    Granite soil.
    68 hl/ha yield (bigger than in a grand cru.

    12.5% alc
    6g/L RS
    matured on lees in large neutral oak barrels.

    $22

    Laterals:
    -Australian Riesling: OZ Riesling would be bone dry, with no botrytis.
    -Mosel Riesling: higher RS, lower alcohol.
    -Rheingau:
    Grosses Gewachs would be drier ~4g RS.
    Pfalz basic riesling - can’t really tell it apart from AOC Alsace (they are neighboring regions).

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  • 2012 Domaine Bechtold Muscat Obere Hund 83 Points

    France, Alsace

    Summary: Pretty good, though the aromas weren’t my favorite kind of terpenes and it was pretty bitter.
    Score: Between 8 and 8.5
    -------------------------
    Medium concentration gold in the glass - some more concentration in the color than the Riesling.
    Nose: Medium ripe rose terpenes, more in the deep pink, orange oil terpene range.
    Palate: light pillow (12g/L RS), moderate phenolic bitterness, moderate acidity, moderate alcohol (it held the 14% well). Balanced but more driven by bitterness.

    6.4 g/L TA
    13% alc
    12g/L RS
    Importer: Neal Rosenthal.

    $22

    Laterals:
    -Torrontes: this is a muscat and criolla cross, with similar terpenes. It’s tough. GKruth: “If it tastes like $12, it’s probably a Torrontes. If it tastes like $30, it Muscat. This is actually how I tell.”

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  • 2013 Domaine Weinbach Gewurztraminer Cuvée Théo 85 Points

    France, Alsace

    Summary: This is pretty interesting. It definitely reminds me of the ’12, but the aromatics are more in the stinkier thiol range.
    Score: Around 8.5
    ---------------
    Full Sensory:
    Visual: Moderate concentration pale gold.
    Nose: Elevated intensity, terpenic and stinky. Fresh rose terpenes, a whiff of burnt firecracker that blew off after a bit (reductive / sulfur compound flaw). Some bitter thiols - overripe grapefruit, skunk. Light tones of saffron (botrytis). (GKruth: botrytis erodes terpenes, so Weinbach’s wines tend to be difficult to call varietal on because of the combo of botrytis and higher RS).
    Palate: A bit off dry - ~15-20 g/L RS [called this well! 19.6 g/L]. Medium plus body. Diminished acid. Bitterness driven balance.

    Laterals:
    -vs. Muscat (e.g. the Bechtold) - the Gewurz has slightly elevated alcohol [13.5%], lower alcohol, and the terpenes are more on the “rose” side than the “orange oil” side.

    Note on Gewurz: Not GKruth’s favorite grape, but can lead to some of his all time favorite food pairings: Sausage, stinky cheese (Muenster d’Alsace), pork (actually a lot of Alsace wines are good with pork).

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Flight 3 - Grand Cru Riesling (4 Notes)

Slightly elevated aromatics, but nothing like the Gewurz. Screaming high acid. Elevated alcohol gives power. None have high TDN (Alsace is less sunny than Australia, and they are controlling it better with canopy management. Also TDN tends to develop with age, and these are young wines).

It's futile to try and correlate soil with sensory qualities. If Olivier Humbrecht (MW) thinks it's complicated, it's complicated.

  • 2011 Dirler-Cade Riesling Kessler 88 Points

    France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

    Summary:
    This is delicious. There’s complexity to it and the structure is undeniably open and ready to drink.
    Score: Between 8.5 and 9.
    ------------------------
    Visual:
    Bright gold, moderate concentration, reflections of green.
    Nose:
    Very apply - maybe in the somewhat oxidative direction, though I don’t get clear acetaldehyde. Warm autolytic nose with hints of baguette (lees stirring? signs of development?). Apply and sweet with a faint hint of TDN (very faint, possibly not there).

    Palate: Alcohol is elevated [14.5%, but carries it well]. Significant pillow of RS [8g/L], screaming high acid.

    GC Kessler is sandstone - sandy clay, known mostly for Gewurz.

    14.5% alc
    8 g RS
    stainless steel fermentation with a touch of sulfur to prevent malolactic fermentation.
    Aged in old wooden foudres for 9 months. Only 183 cases (tiny!).

    $35.

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  • 2012 Albert Boxler Riesling Brand 90 Points

    France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

    Summary: Very nice, but tight, young. I think this will get better in 10 years, but I really don’t know what I’m talking about.
    Score: Around 9.
    -------------------
    Visual:
    Bright gold, with reflections of green, moderate concentration.
    Nose:
    Warm green apple, fresh, crisp, and a bit tight. (GKruth: too young to appreciate this - still a bit reductive).
    Palate:
    Brighter on the palate than the Kessler, screaming high acid that shows earlier on the palate due to less of an RS pillow [5g/L]. The elevated alcohol at 14% (common in Grand Cru Riesling) doesn’t show for me - maybe it presents as slightly elevated (I think all the high-alcohol wines gave me a touch of fatigue).

    14% alc
    8 g/L TA
    5 g/L RS

    Importer: Kermit Lynch
    $85 - GKruth: “You gotta pay the Kermit tab :) ”

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  • 2012 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Rangen de Thann Clos St. Urbain 90 Points

    France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

    Summary: This is great Riesling in a classic style. It was cool to finally taste one of Olivier’s wines, after getting to know him through his articles and podcasts.
    Score: Around 9.
    --------------------
    Rangen: The southernmost grand cru vineyard in Alsace, and the only one that is essentially all volcanic soil (stony, dark volcanic). Humbrecht has a great writeup on Clos St. Urbain.

    Visual: Moderate plus concentration, bright gold.
    Nose: A bit of saffron (botrytis) and a bit more oxidative in style (vs. Boxler’s reductive style). Botrytis can contribute to deeper color and oxidation. Why? (something about cover crop?)
    Palate: The elevated alcohol [14.1%] simply doesn’t show to me (I’m probably getting alcohol-blind from all these elevated-alcohol wines). Light pillow of RS [5.8 g/L] and screaming high acid.

    14.1% alc
    6.4 g/L TA
    5.8 g/L RS

    Aged for 18 months(!) in 40-year-old French barrels (!).
    $100

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  • 2011 Albert Mann Riesling Furstentum 90 Points

    France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

    Summary: Great juice. Classic, full, expressive nose, and ready to drink.
    Score: Around 9.
    ------------------
    Visual: Pale straw with moderate concentration and reflections of green.
    Nose: Green apple, rich, with slight leesiness (autolysis / cheese rind / baguette).
    Palate: Moderate plus alcohol (slightly elevated) [13.5%]. Off-dry [15g RS] but still crisp due to screaming high acid.

    GKruth’s favorite Riesling of the Grand Crus in the flight to drink right now.
    GKruth: This is probably most classic of the flight for blind tasting. It can’t be Mosel - too much alcohol. Can’t be OZ - high RS. Maybe Rhinegau???

    From Grand Cru Furstentum, in Kaysersberg (limestone).
    13.5% Alc.
    7.5 g/L TA
    15 g/L RS
    $45

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Flight 4 - 3 Levels of Sweetness: Pinot Gris (3 Notes)

Sweet, but not too sweet (not Sauternes level), at least in the VT category.

  • 2011 Trimbach Pinot Gris Reserve 85 Points

    France, Alsace

    Summary:
    Varietally correct. Not complicated.
    Score: Around 8.5
    -------------
    Visual:
    Pale straw, light concentration.
    Nose: Strong washed cheese-rind, maybe muenster. No botrytis, mostly neutral.
    Palate: Feels nearly dry [4.5 g RS]. Weighty and nicely-textured, with elevated alcohol [13.5%]. Moderate acid, moderate minus phenolic bitterness. It’s balanced - more bitterness driven. Seems like a classic Pinot Gris.

    Laterals:
    -Pinot blanc: too extracted and weighty.
    -Pinot Grigio: Too heavy alcohol, too aromatic.
    -Albarino - not as aromatic as Albarino.
    -Riesling: less aromatic than riesling, lower acid, and has phenolic bitterness.
    -Smaragd Gruner? perhaps. No white pepper.
    -Oregon Pinot Gris - Yes, you could confuse this, especially as this one isn’t that complex.

    13.5% alc.
    6.09 g/L TA
    4.5 g/L RS
    Fermented in stainless steel vats with no oak aging.
    This is huge production - probably ~50k+ cases per year.
    $23

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  • 2010 Domaine Maurice Schoech Pinot Gris Mambourg 87 Points

    France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

    Summary: A neutral-smelling sweet wine with nice nervoux acidity and some weight.
    Score: Between 8.5 and 9.
    --------------
    Full Sensory:
    Visual: Light concentration. Medium straw with reflections of green in the glass.
    Nose: Fermentation esters - generic white flowers. Not much going on here - smells sweet.
    Palate: Decidedly off-dry [40g/L sugar]. Moderate alcohol, elevated acidity (but not high). Very low phenolics - just a faint impression of bitterness. Balanced and bright, with weight and texture and sweetness.

    Laterals (why is it not…):
    -Riesling - doesn’t have the screaming high acid, though the acid is elevated.
    -Vouvray: again, would have higher acid.

    Food pairings (GKruth): Pate / Foie Gras: this isn’t as sweet or jarring as Sauternes, so you could use it at the beginning of a meal. Also, spicy sausage. PG is good with pork (as is Alsace in general).

    From Mambourg, a marl-limestone vineyard near Kaysersberg that’s mostly known for Gewurztraminer.

    13% alc
    4 g/L TA
    40 g/L RS
    Importer: Rosenthal
    $32

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  • 2000 Trimbach Pinot Gris Vendanges Tardives 87 Points

    France, Alsace

    Summary: Aromatic, botrytized (It’s especially acceptable to botrytize Pinot Gris, given it doesn’t have much aromatic varietal character). Sweet. This is good stuff. Score: Between 8.5 and 9.
    -----------------------------
    Full Sensory:

    From Grand Cru Osterberg (clay-marl) - one of the vineyards (with Geisberg) in Trimbach’s Cuvee Frederic Emile.

    Visual: High concentration, rich gold with reflections of copper and straw. (Botrytis contributes to color, along with oxidation. Also this is from 2000).

    Nose: Strong saffron and wax (botrytis) with a hint of burnt firecracker (sulfites) and genmaicha (also a botrytis note). Honeyed. (GKruth: “like Sauternes without the oak”).

    Palate: Apricot, saffron. Moderate acidity. Elevated alcohol.

    Laterals:
    Sauternes: has new oak
    Vouvray: higher acid, no phenolic bitterness.
    Tokaji: higher acid

    13.9% alc
    6.8 g/L TA
    54 g/L RS
    $50

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