Weinbach Altenbourg Gewurztraminer 2008
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Weinbach Altenbourg Gewurztraminer 2008
HED06175
75 cl
13.5%
£50.00
Taxes included.
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Altenbourg Gewurztraminer 2008 from Domaine Weinbach is an Alsatian white wine from a site situated just below the Schlossberg Grand Cru. The 2008 vintage was a classic and cooler year in Alsace, yielding wines with high aromatic clarity and structural tension. This bottling offers an expressive profile of rose petals, lychee, ginger and exotic spices. Despite the grape’s natural richness, the wine remains balanced by a vibrant acidic core and a distinct mineral drive. Following maturation in large neutral oak vats, the palate is broad and textural, leading into a long, savoury finish.
91 Robert Parker
After the delicious deviance of the corresponding Cuvee Laurence, Weinbach’s 2008 Gewurztraminer Altenbourg returns us to the regularly scheduled program of litchi, rose petal, and smoked meat, with saline and smoky notes as well as the bite of fresh ginger serving – along with strong grapefruit citricity – to counteract the effects of 40 grams of residual sugar. There is a fine triangulation among creaminess of texture, bright refreshment, and levity. This ought to prove delectable over the coming 7-10 years, and perhaps even beyond.
Both 2008 and 2009 were clearly challenging at Domaine Weinbach, many of their wines from the latter illustrating that vintage’s weaknesses. (Catherine and Collette Faller elected not to present me their – admittedly, at the time not yet officially approved – 2009 vintage V.T. and S.G.N. bottlings.) Harvesting at this estate is generally on the late side and in this instance continued until October 20, which I hypothesized while tasting might have been a bit too late for such nearly uniformly ripeness as seems to have prevailed by late September of 2009. The first vintage from this estate that I tasted as young wine was 1979 (‘though I did not visit until 1984), so I’ve experienced a full range of collections from cool, late growing seasons such as have nowadays become scarce; but only from a couple of genuinely ripeness-deficient vintages of the 1980s, and then again from 1996, can I recall acid levels as prominent as those harbored by the Weinbach 2008s, and this has rendered some of them youthfully severe or nervous, though one hopes and indeed expects that the best will calm down, round out, and harmonize over time, without losing their vivacity, focus, and in some instances power. Don’t be misled by the scores I have assigned to this 2008 collection. really, a question mark hangs over them all because it’s how these wines respond to bottle age which will determine the verdict that matters. A look at the 1996s provides some tanta
Both 2008 and 2009 were clearly challenging at Domaine Weinbach, many of their wines from the latter illustrating that vintage’s weaknesses. (Catherine and Collette Faller elected not to present me their – admittedly, at the time not yet officially approved – 2009 vintage V.T. and S.G.N. bottlings.) Harvesting at this estate is generally on the late side and in this instance continued until October 20, which I hypothesized while tasting might have been a bit too late for such nearly uniformly ripeness as seems to have prevailed by late September of 2009. The first vintage from this estate that I tasted as young wine was 1979 (‘though I did not visit until 1984), so I’ve experienced a full range of collections from cool, late growing seasons such as have nowadays become scarce; but only from a couple of genuinely ripeness-deficient vintages of the 1980s, and then again from 1996, can I recall acid levels as prominent as those harbored by the Weinbach 2008s, and this has rendered some of them youthfully severe or nervous, though one hopes and indeed expects that the best will calm down, round out, and harmonize over time, without losing their vivacity, focus, and in some instances power. Don’t be misled by the scores I have assigned to this 2008 collection. really, a question mark hangs over them all because it’s how these wines respond to bottle age which will determine the verdict that matters. A look at the 1996s provides some tanta
90 Vinous
(40 g/l r.s., with 6.8 acidity) Pale-medium yellow. Complex aromas of pineapple, quinine, marzipan and ginger, with a floral element emerging as the wine opens in the glass. Fairly sweet but with very good integrated acidity and underlying minerality giving precision to the stone fruit and spice flavors. Finishes suave and persistent, firm but not phenolic. A serious wine with spine.Stephen Tanzer1st November 2010
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