Comments on: Outnumbered in Alsace http://debramasterofwine.com/outnumbered-in-alsace/ Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:03:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Debra Meiburg http://debramasterofwine.com/outnumbered-in-alsace/comment-page-1/#comment-78 Debra Meiburg Sun, 21 Mar 2010 11:01:26 +0000 http://debramasterofwine.com/?p=268#comment-78 What an interesting comment! Excellent insight, Damien. I fully agree! Debra What an interesting comment! Excellent insight, Damien. I fully agree! Debra

]]> By: Damien Casten http://debramasterofwine.com/outnumbered-in-alsace/comment-page-1/#comment-74 Damien Casten Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:39:09 +0000 http://debramasterofwine.com/?p=268#comment-74 I tend to agree with M. Beyer, but interest in some residual sugar presents a sort of logic trap. Some sugar rounds out flaws and / or covers sharp edges, especially in Gewurztraminer that can come from high yields and machine harvesting. This creates a large amount of wines that taste like they are grown for mass production vs expression of place. I had a visit from Muscadet producer Jo Landron this past week during which he introduced me to his idea of "mineral density". The more carefully he farms, the denser his wines have become. This lead me to think about Alsace and the apparent density that sugar gives, vs "mineral density". I think the best in Alsace succeed in making wines that combine some of both. Whereas Jo's Muscadets might be at a max of 2g per liter of RS, I think there is room for a few more grams in Alsace when accompanied by "mineral density". My own key to finding such wines is to look for producers who are farming as naturally as possible, and who have plots on the fingers that descend from the Vosges mountains as opposed to the broad flatlands a bit further to the east. But forget all that. Anyone looking to have a great experience with an Aslace wine should look for a single vineyard Pinot Gris and then grill a duck breast with Chinese 5 spice. Delicious, to say the least. I tend to agree with M. Beyer, but interest in some residual sugar presents a sort of logic trap. Some sugar rounds out flaws and / or covers sharp edges, especially in Gewurztraminer that can come from high yields and machine harvesting. This creates a large amount of wines that taste like they are grown for mass production vs expression of place.

I had a visit from Muscadet producer Jo Landron this past week during which he introduced me to his idea of “mineral density”. The more carefully he farms, the denser his wines have become. This lead me to think about Alsace and the apparent density that sugar gives, vs “mineral density”. I think the best in Alsace succeed in making wines that combine some of both. Whereas Jo’s Muscadets might be at a max of 2g per liter of RS, I think there is room for a few more grams in Alsace when accompanied by “mineral density”. My own key to finding such wines is to look for producers who are farming as naturally as possible, and who have plots on the fingers that descend from the Vosges mountains as opposed to the broad flatlands a bit further to the east.

But forget all that. Anyone looking to have a great experience with an Aslace wine should look for a single vineyard Pinot Gris and then grill a duck breast with Chinese 5 spice. Delicious, to say the least.

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