Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  8/6/2007 (link)

  (KLEIN Pinot Gris Burgreben) 2005 Alsace Dear Friends, We’ve received many inquiries regarding 2005 in Alsace (especially the Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Gewurztraminer due to Tanzer’s comments). I’ve gone to the well one more time and our friends at Klein have agreed to offer their 2005s just prior to release. To be brief, both of the wines below represent some of the very best bargains in Alsace today and some of the best bargains in all of France. Without a national importer the fastidious wines from Klein continue to be 50-75% less than they would be if multiple hands demanded a cut. I’m going to keep offering whatever I can from this winery as who knows how much longer this will last. Both of the wines below will be on their way to us directly from the winery cellar (in the next week or so) to arrive early this fall. They should be in time for the fall ship season. If you have any interest in the wines below, please let us know you interest at your earliest convenience: 2005 Klein aux Vieux Remparts Pinot Gris “Burgreben” LIMITED 12/person Yields were way down in 2005 around St. Hippolyte and this wine was no exception. They produced a meager amount of this and we can only get one shipment (we can offer 12/person on pre-release only). Technically a Tokay-Pinot Gris from old-vines grown in solid granitic soil grown at nearly 1200 ft in elevation, this wine hits all the sweet spots without any heaviness or blasphemous syrup and it has the buried acids to balance the attack on your senses. Drier than the 2004 version with a golden yellow tone and highly aromatic, stony white fruit-laced palate that is awash in masculine spice elements and sweet sap with a freshness of cut that makes the best 2005 Pinot Gris examples something to savor. This is a wine that begs to be cellared and one you will take great pleasure in opening years down the line when you remember what you paid. For this price, it may be Alsace’s most serious example of this site - reminds me of a few Bott-Geyl Pinot Gris examples in 2005. Outstanding for the price. 2005 Klein aux Vieux Remparts Pinot Noir (St. Hippolyte) LIMITED 6/person (we may have to cut this to 3/person as I need to be fair to everyone - please request your maximum number and we will allocate accordingly). This wine had a great deal of chatter in Alsace when I visited in the spring and it is a very rare example - one the Klein’s are synonymous with all the way to top restaurants in Paris and London. 2005 may be the vintage that puts Alsatian Pinot Noir on the map as previous eccentricities have not appealed to a wide enough audience in the US no matter how hard retailers have pushed the light colored curiosity (save for a few tasters in the Garagiste office, few seemed to care about Pinot Noir from this region). In 2005, nature converged on this zone to create an almost Burgundy-like condition that will not only surprise but it will shock those that believe Alsace is only a white wine region. From a similar solid granitic parcel of soil as the Pinot Gris, this is like mineral-infused ripe, red cherries dropping to the floor after being chiseled off the mountainside with a pick-axe. Produced since the 16th century, the Klein’s version of St. Hippolyte Rouge (Pinot Noir) has beautiful floral intensity with a Volnay-esque mouthfeel from ideal sifted tannins and a youthful bite that is a poster-child for 2005 Alsatian Pinot Noir. 2005 was a red wine vintage where this cool climate region met its jigsaw puzzle match and the result is Pinto Noir that may speak to the future of wine in general. If global warming continues, Alsace may be the new Cote de Beaune (this is not as far fetched as it seems - not at all). I expect this wine to open after another 12 months in bottle and evolve and transform for the following 8-10 years. A statement maker. Both are VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for price/value, vintage reflection and unique aspect in the wine trade Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Als7200 Als7300