I wanted to start a thread on the sweet wines of Alsace.
Favorite bottles, year, producers, pairings, fun facts, whatever.
Every time I have one and love it, but I don’t seek it out. No idea why.
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Well, all I have is an origin story. After having the 2007 Albert Boxler Pinot Gris Sommerberg at Gramercy Tavern in 2017, I loved it so much that I bought half a case, got into wines with significant RS, then botrytis, then……
I’d love to try it now that I’ve tasted more.
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We rarely have them but my hunch is that if one is stateside, anything that makes it here is likely going to be pretty solid.
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Weinbach Gerwurtztraminer are my favorite SGN’s. Still have a bunch from the 1980’s and 90’s.
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What are those like, Eric?
I’m a part of the Confrerie St Etienne (Alsatian wine society) TX chapter, and we had our fall dinner last night. The dessert was a poached pear tart with rasped cinnamon and it was paired with a 2015 Marcel Deiss VT Pinot Gris…sublime pairing. I’ve had quite a few Marcel Deiss VT wines over the years and am a big fan. This 2015 showed good acidity and was most definitely not cloying/flabby. Many fine years ahead of it.
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I was at a very large wine dinner the other night and brought a ‘94 Zind Humbrecht Pinot Gris Clos St Urbain VT. It was delicious but very few people poured a glass. They all went for the Cal Cabs and Chards, Burgs, and Rhône’s.
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Yeah, it seems like these wines don’t get the respect they deserve. Zind-Humbrecht VTs and SGNs can be such special wines. A Gewurz SGN a while back was incredible, although I forget the vintage.
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Wow - didn’t know this was a thing. Is there a nyc chapter? Briefly googled, but didn’t find.
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It’s certainly more than arguable that the best sweet wines of all come from Alsace, if they don’t come from Germany. A recent Hugel Pinot Gris SGN cuvee ‘S’ 1989 may well have been as good as wine gets.
It’s worth noting that ‘Vendanges Tardive’ is relatively unlikely to indicate a wine of dessert sweetness.
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Some recent 1989s.
- 1989 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Clos Windsbuhl Vendange Tardive - France, Alsace (10/19/2024)
A pale, golden robe. Aromas of mango and lychee. The palate is a tertiary, but still very fresh and lively with tropical fruit, a hint of almond, and warm baking spice, a velvety, spherical mouthfeel, with good acidity. A big wine, but there is freshness that keeps the wine from feeling cloying or overly sweet.
- 1989 Albert Boxler Pinot Gris Brand Sélection de Grains Nobles - France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru (9/22/2024)
Incredibly fresh and bright while simultaneously being complex and tertiary. Very rich and deep, but the sweetness, while very present, is not cloying and is deftly balanced with the acidity. A really great, mature dessert wine.
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I googled and found they only have chapters in TX and LA in the US
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Love SGN and VT from Trimbach and Zind Humbrecht, but my most memorable one was a Albert Mann 2005 Gewurztraminer SGN. A day touring a fairy tale land - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers [Note that I had a couple of more bottles of this later back at home so that the wine has tremendous quality even outside the Fairy Tale Land.]
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1983 Trimbach CFE SGN was awesome up until to my last of trio drank here;
1989 Trimbach CFE VT was awesome, too.
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So hard to find. Wife and I love these. Found two 375ml bottle of 2015 Kuents-Bas Cuvée Caroline Vendange Tardive Pinot Gris a few years ago at Lukas Wine(now sadly Total Wine) in the Kansas City area. Other than that it has been over a decade since seeing any sold near me.
Would be willing to start a chapter here in Kansas. I am in far eastern Kansas, south of the KC metro area.
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Weinbach Gerwurtz tend to a sweeter style, but still huge minerality. They have a regular SGN and a higher level called Quintessence SGN with is even richer and sweeter. These will age forever.
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I saw this on Guide Michelin
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Very much NOT a fan of the Zind-Humbrecht style here, too high % alcohol usually and not enjoyable for me to drink. But some Trimbach SGN, particularly the CFE 1990, and most anything Weinbach/Faller makes in a year with balance is something I’m happy to drink but for SGN, particularly the Pinot Gris and Gewurtz. We are less excited by the dry-style Gewurtz like Trimbach Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre though. I haven’t bought much, recently, but the region is one of our favorite places on earth. The food and wine and culture is just amazing. Ferber Jams are so special, each and every one. Also, there are so many great smaller wineries, that we don’t see in the US or that get marked up to dumb levels (Boxler).
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