Does POX affect other areas than Burgundy? Sadly, I think Josmeyer in Alsace has a problem…
Below are notes from a tasting of their wines I organised this week for the local group here in Nottingham in the UK - very experienced tasters with deep cellars.
I visited Domaine Josmeyer about five years ago, tasted up and down the range and was very taken with them - I bought both at the time and subsequently. A couple of things have shaken my faith in the least year or so, particularly a higher than acceptable rate of faulty bottles and a suspicion of whole batch problems.
Two specific wines had been problematic
- 1996 Riesling GC Hengst, a whole case bought at auction was oxidised
- 2000 Riesling GC Brand - I had a few bottles of this from the Wine Society and again all were oxidized. To their enormous credit, WS were both interested and concerned. They very kindly credited my account with value of the faulty bottles but also alerted the Domaine. From their further correspondence they say that Josmeyer checked their library stocks of the wine in question and were said to have found them to be fine. In a kind and interesting final flourish, Josmeyer sent me replacement bottles for the ones I reported faulty, but sent the current vintage, 2009. I also have a background rate of other odd bottles, so I was keen to have an opportunity to open a selection and see what the group thought.
Here are the wines, my notes, and where relevant the consensus of the group as well.
Josmeyer, Pinot Gris GC Brand 2008
Pale silvery gold. Nose very dumb - nothing here! No signs of TCA or oxidation, just very very quiet. Mineral, white pepper, some lime notes with coaxing. Palate much better - rich, honey, lemony acidity (a combination that put me in mind of Lockets!). Decent length, quite appealing.
The nose was a bit more expressive later with the group, and most liked this. Ok for a few more years.
Josmeyer, Pinot Gris GC Brand, 2005
Pale silvery gold. Clean and toasty nose, touch of typical pinot gris “incorrectness”, but again overall very quiet and restrained. White pepper here too. Good nose, but not special. In the mouth there’s an icing sugar texture, lots of tangerine flavours, zippy seville orange acidity, all balancing the underlying creamy richness. Very delicious in the mouth, underwhelming on the nose.
Josmeyer, Riesling GC Brand, 2009
Very pale. Classic young Josmeyer Riesling nose. They never make heavy or overtly showy or over-ripe wines, but concentrate instead on classic lean minerality. Pure nose of lemon, lime, grapefruit and crushed rocks. Palate has racy lime acidity, is dry, balanced, linear and pure. Mouthwatering acidity, quite long. Young dry Alsace Riesling that I would expect to last and develop.
Several in the group were struck with how much this resembled an Australian Riesling in its citrus orientation. The comments were to the effect that that’s a pleasureable style but not a favouite expression for Alsace Riesling.
Josmeyer, Riesling GC Brand, 2005
Pale gold. Really lovely classic nose of great purity - clean, lean, touch of greengage developing. Some chalky minerality, plenty of citrus too. Also developing some flinty gunflint notes, a curl of smoke. Palate is extraordinary and delicious. Huge hit of intense flavours on entry - lovely white-flower florality, heaps of minerality too. It’s bone dry, lots of citrus, tangerines here too. Long. Drinking well now.
Later, with the group there was the merest hint of a drying oxidation note at the end of the palate.
Josmeyer, Riesling Le Dragon 2005
Pale silver. Lovely gentle chalky nose. Rich sherbert lemons. In the mouth there’s the icing sugar and lemon thing here too. Lovely balance and length. This punches way above its weight. Bone dry and very appealing. Drink now.
Josmeyer, Riesling Les Pierrets 2004.
First bottle corked and oxidised.
Second bottle quite golden colour - darker golden than expected. But the nose is clean - it has all the mineral and citrus notes I expected. Palate rich and has honey notes. Decent balance and length. I guess this is a lesser wine and maybe has been kept a little longer than it should have been. I’d be happy drinking this now, but drink-up.
Josmeyer, Riesling GC Hengst, 2004
Mid gold colour. Tight mineral nose. Greengages, touch of woodsmoke, needs coaxing but I think there’s more to come here. Palate much more interesting, quite rich by Josmeyer standards, lipsmacking qualities, lovely ripe fruit, smoke note here too. Lovely balance of fruit and slightly less fierce acidity. Just a hint of kerosene. Nice.
Everyone liked this, noting its power and youth. All other things being equal, a keeper…
Josmeyer, Riesling GC Brand, 2004
Pale gold. Nose evolving nicely - has touches of interesting vegetal and hedgerow notes alongside the more familiar lemon and mineral smells. Very delicate, linear, refined and pure. Hint of tangerine. Palate very intense on entry - big weight of clean fruit with a preserved lemon almost salty character. Incisive and impressive at the same time - it’s the balance here that’s so good. Excellent.
All agreed, a lovely contrast with the Hengst from the same year. Both excellent wines but quite different in their expressions, this one the richer and bolder of the two. On the whole, these were the best pair of the night.
Josmeyer, Riesling GC Brand, 2002
Pale gold. Tight and oxidizing nose. Palate distinctly oxidized. This is a wrong 'un. There’s a weight of fruit here too, so it isn’t a disaster area yet, but definitely in trouble.
Group all agreed on the oxidation.
Josmeyer, Riesling GC Hengst, 2002
Pale gold. Back to clean and pure character on the nose - very smoky and mineral. What a contrast to the Brand. Rich citrus peel notes, icing sugar, granite, and wet pebbles, angelica and white flowers. Very appealing. Palate is a delight - by Josmeyer standards, pretty rich with apricotty notes, rounded and full-on. I like this very much. Beginnings of petrol notes too. Delicious. Drinking well.
Generally much preferred by the group to its sibling from the same year. But there was a caramel note on the finish that doesn’t bode well…
Josmeyer, Riesling GC Hengst, 2000
Mid gold. Back to problem territory here. More oxidation. It’s not terrible but the wine has dumbed and become old before its time.
Everyone agreed, tastes like a 20 or 25 year wine.
Josmeyer, Riesling GC Hengst, 1999
Deep gold and badly oxidized. DNPIM.
Josmeyer, Riesling GC Hengst Samain, 2005
Pale silver. Back to clean, fine and pure. Poised, taut and tightly mineral. Palate rich and more relaxed, less tightly wound than previous wines. The acidity much less prominent making for a gentler and easier drinking experience. Intensely fruited, beautifully balanced, long and lovely.
Quince notes to the fore later, with the group. Widely admired.
What a mixed bag. When they’re good, they’re good, but there’s an unacceptable fail rate too.
In summary, from this tasting and previous experience, the following Josmeyer wines are oxidising before their time:
1996 Riesling GC Hengst
2000 Riesling GC Brand
2002 Riesling GC Brand
2000 Riesling GC Hengst
1999 Riesling GC Hengst
In addition, there were some wines in this tasting that may have shown signs of impending oxidation:
2005 Riesling GC Brand
2002 Riesling GC Hengst
I should perhaps say a word or two about storage and sourcing. These have been bought from a variety of good sources – none from auction except the one that I mentioned. The rest mostly from Wine Society, Gauntleys and from the domaine itself. Since purchase all stored in my subterranean cellar, temperature with slow annual variation from about 8 to 13 degrees C.
Hopefully most of the above is reasonably factual. Now a bit of opinion: I think this is POX, like in Burgundy. The timing looks pretty-much bang-on, doesn’t it? Wines from 1996-2002 are badly affected; younger wines, around 2005, just beginning to show.
And what about methods? For those who worry that Burg POX is associated with the move to pneumatic presses, here we see the same issue - go to the Josmeyer website and follow the links to the tech sheets on each of the wines and they all say this: “The grapes were hand picked and whole-bunch pressed very slowly and gently in pneumatic presses over 5-8 hours to give a clean must and a beneficial amount of skin contact.” I can’t say when the pneumatic presses were introduced.
And sulphur use? It’s hard to say, but there’s a hint that they have been “minimising” sulphur under the influence of the naturalistas – their MD Christophe Ehrhart said of his wines “they have a little bit of sulphites” in an interview in Drinks Business you’ll find with a bit of googling.
So, it’s with genuine sadness I have found these problems – I really hoped before the tasting that I had just had a few odd bottles and a dodgy auction purchase. Now I believe there’s a systematic problem and that it’s most likely related to the Burg POX.
I will be drinking my Josmeyer wines young.