Alsatian Wines Strike a Balance of Dry and Sweet

Nowadays people seem to ignore the oak treatment some Alsatian producers allow with their wines. A small but impossible to ignore streak of new oak. Of course many never do this, such as Zind-Humbrecht, Weinbach, or Trimbach. Frenchmen get furious at the detection of new oak in their chardonnay, but seem to give it a pass in Alsace. Personally it distracts my enjoyment of Alsace. I love when the delicate spiciness of the terroir shines through, as if I am tasting the neighboring Strisselspalt hops of that other class of beverage.

Back in the 80's, the Times wine critic Frank Prial was having lunch at a nearby table. I stopped as I was leaving to voice a small protest. He had recently written articles lauding many of these very Alsatian wines some which I used to afford & buy. "Please stop writing about how great these wines are....," I pleaded, "...else the prices will go up". He smiled.

Fast forward some years, I was delighted to spot a Trimbach Gewürztraminer at a local store in New Hampshire and immediately added it to my cart. At checkout, I was shocked to see an amount the cashier had rung up..."wait a minute, what did I buy for $124.95"? Alas! Sad to say, it went back to its place on the shelf.

Note to Eric Asimov: "Please stop."

Waiting for the right moment to open my last half bottle of Clos St. Hune. Trimbach wines at our wedding, too.

Mr. Asimov on multiple occasions in this wonderful article uses the word "precise" which so accurately defines the spirit of Alsatian bottles for me. Thank you for this article and for your continued clarity. While I sometimes disagree with your personal preferences; I can never fault your passion.

While attending Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA, I worked as a server, expediter, and host at the California Cafe. That was where I was introduced to Trimbach Riesling. Lucky me.

Some years ago I spent hours walking the Brand cru hillside and sipping Alsatian wines .. converted, these days I search out "double G" Rieslings .. and a St Hune on that rare occasion .. Acker and Merrill (72nd Street) usually has a wide assortment

Trimbach reislings are my favourite wines. Now sadly out of my price range.

Outstanding article! Your writing inspires the layman and invigorates the trade!

Great article from Asimov and the timing of it is perfect as I happen to be visiting the region this fall. I enjoy the wines from Alsace with their mineral and clean taste but have not tried a sylvaner. So I will be in the region to explore sylvaner as much as possible. I also hope to visit either one of the Domaines featured in this article or my favorites Trimbach and Barmes Buecher.

In addition to sylvaner, rightly mentioned here as an underappreciated (in the U.S.) grape, which can indeed be very fine but from which much low-end plonk was also being fed into the market in France in the 70s and 80s, another great delight from Alsace is pinot blanc, which at its best can put one in mind of a fine white Burgundy, but at a much lower price point. Much of the Alsatian pinot blanc I have found in New York has been disappointing (sometimes sacrificing balance for sweetness, perhaps because of the expectations Eric mentions), but in France they can thrill.

In my opinion, the big news in Alsatian wines is the experimentation with red wines, namely pinot noirs. You mention them and depict a tasting, but there is no discussion. They might eventually deserve an article on their own. In the more Northern sector of the Alsace wine region, especially centered around Mittelbergheim (which is one of 3 Alsatian villages on the register of "most beautiful villages of France"), the pinot noirs are beginning to resemble excellent wines from Burgundy and Oregon, but at far lower prices. On another note, although Ostertag's "vielle vignes" sylvaner has appeared on American menus, raising consciousness of the grape's qualities, sylvaner recently attained its first and only grand cru status on the Zotzenberg terroir, between Mittelbergheim
and Barr. Virtually all these wines are biodynamic.

"At the crossroads between Germanic and Roman influences, the history of wine in the Alsace region dates back to the Roman era. The Merovingian and Carolingian also great amateurs of the drink that brought them courage and happiness continued the region’s winemaking tradition. Wine is produced for mass or other celebrations in the Middle Ages by over 150 localities. Alsace wines are highly regarded and reach their peak in the XVIth century."
https://www.winechictravel.com/france/alsace
" Alsace also has an image problem. Or, to be more precise, in the United States it faces the absence of one. Ask a young person about the wines of Alsace, and chances are you will be met with a blank stare."
well actually most regions of France are underrated in the US.