Tasting at Léon Beyer, Eguisheim
Tasted June 11, 2017 by honest bob with 176 views
Introduction
A cordial welcome at LB's tasting room in Eguisheim and very helpful, informative guidance.
1) We returned here to buy truly dry Riesling, having discovered that only Beyer, Trimbach and Hugel still seem to make the effort to prduce Alsace wine you can actually drink with food (which means for me: Drink at all). OK, I'll make an exception for Schlumberger, who manage to pack enough acid balance in to make their off-dry wines palatable. On our previous Alsace trip we bought far too much sweet wine labelled as dry table wine from the likes of Albert Mann and Paul Blanck, which is cluttering up the cellar and waiting for guests who actually like sweet (as opposed to nobly sweet) table wine.
2) It is rare in France to find any mature wine for sale – let alone on a restaurant list. All the more remarkable that Beyer genuinely seem interested in keeping their wines back until they start entering maturity; this makes the slightly higher prices (compared to local competitors) seem wholly justified.
Flight 1 - Riesling (6 notes)
High quality here. All wines except the basic Riesling see up to 15 months in big old oak foudres. The only wine I didn't like was the out-of-balance, very oaky 2012 Reserve, which didn't seem to have the stuffing to survive the foudre. The 2009 Comtes seemed rather too expensive for its blowsy, chubby quality, but I'm sure it will find friends.
White
2015 Léon Beyer Riesling
France, Alsace
From 75cl in LB tasting room, Eguisheim. Quince, lemon and green apple. Light to medium bodied, very lively and surprisingly "fruité" for Beyer, also absolutely no hint of oak. Very attractive and a fine value at 12,90 EUR. 87P
White
2012 Léon Beyer Riesling Reserve
France, Alsace
From 75cl in LB tasting room, Eguisheim. Oak seems rather dominant. Thicker than the 2015 entry-level Riesling, more serious (wet stones, even a hint of slate), but a bit po-faced and charmless. 15,85 EUR. 86P
White
2008 Léon Beyer Riesling Les Ecaillers
France, Alsace
From 75cl in LB tasting room, Eguisheim. Oak, lemon and grapefruit; slender, elegant, beautifully poised; very long. A winner now and with 10 years in store. Good value at 19,75 EUR. 90P
White
2009 Léon Beyer Riesling Cuvée des Comtes d'Eguisheim
France, Alsace
From 75cl in LB tasting room, Eguisheim. Heavy oak and tropical fruit scent; fat entry, perhaps even a bit pudgy – it must be the hot vintage speaking. Short finish for this cuvée and this price level (30, 10 EUR). Not sure this will turn out to be a keeper. 88-89P(?)
White
2010 Léon Beyer Riesling R de Beyer
France, Alsace
From 75cl in LB tasting room, Eguisheim. Less oak than the other prestige LB Rieslings tasted today; sexy ripe lemon; broad, open, balanced palate and a mouth-watering long finish. So forward it almost seems indecent, perhaps one to drink up in the next 4-5 years? Superb, worth the 30,10 EUR asked. 91P
White - Off-dry
1998 Léon Beyer Riesling Vendanges Tardives
France, Alsace
From 75cl in LB tasting room, Eguisheim. Clear, spicy, smoky Alsace Riesling, which would be classified by most producers here as "dry", but LB honestly admit isn't. Some botrytis adds to the complexity, but would make this a very challenging off-dry wine for neophytes... Mature but no hurry. Well priced at 28,40 EUR. 89-90P
Flight 2 - Pinot Gris (4 notes)
I swore never again to buy Pinot Gris after having bought far too many bottles of expensive, undrinkable sugar solution on my previous visit to Alsace. But the bone-dry 2008 Comtes charmed me, and Martin said, no doubt correctly, that it would be stunning with rich spicy sauces, so a couple of bottles found their way into my order...
White
2009 Léon Beyer Pinot Gris Reserve
France, Alsace
From 75cl in LB tasting room, Eguisheim. Spicy, exotic PG scent; creamy palate with completely overpowering, whopping 14,5% alc – yes folks, this is fermented completely dry, but the sheer alcoholic weight makes for uncomfortably heavy drinking nonetheless. 18,25 EUR. 86P(?)
White
2008 Léon Beyer Pinot Gris Cuvée des Comtes d'Eguisheim
France, Alsace
From 75cl in LB tasting room, Eguisheim. White peach, apricot scent; the entry is dry, supple, slender and elegant despite carrying full-bodied 14% alc; honeyed finish the clearest hint of the sugary nightmare this juice would have become in the hands of most Alsace producers. Very fine, one for the long haul. 30,10 EUR. 90P
White - Off-dry
2000 Léon Beyer Pinot Gris Vendanges Tardives
France, Alsace
From 75cl in LB tasting room, Eguisheim. I'm not normally a fan of statistics, but this tastes just like you'd expect an Alsace PG with 13% alc and 13g residual sugar to taste: One sip is enough, one glass is too much, and the very thought of trying to drink a second glass is appalling. Cloying stuff. 35,45 EUR. Not rated.
White - Sweet/Dessert
1997 Léon Beyer Pinot Gris Sélection de Grains Nobles
France, Alsace
From 75cl in LB tasting room, Eguisheim. Decadent sweaty truffle, tire rubber and wine gums (and that's just the scent). A very small glass of this cloyingly sweet wine might possibly provide a fine gastronomic pairing with very rich cuisine. Someone has to like it(?) Not rated.
Flight 3 - Dinner at "Au Vieux Porche" Eguisheim (1 note)
White
2009 Léon Beyer Riesling Les Ecaillers
France, Alsace
From 75cl in a restaurant. Oaky and charmless; fuller, less poised than the 2008 and without the virility I remember from the 2007. Another flabby Alsace 2009... 86-87P
Closing
If you like the Trimbach house style, this is a real alternative in the same basic, bone-dry, direction. My previous experience – confirmed today – is that Beyer excels in cooler vintages such as 2007 and 2008.
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