Wines of Alsace (Guides to Wines and Top Vineyards Book 4) by Benjamin Lewin MW

Author:Benjamin Lewin MW [Lewin MW, Benjamin]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2016-01-02T16:00:00+00:00

Vintages

Historically Alsace has alternated between good vintages and poor vintages, but the recent global warming trend has produced a run of good vintages, albeit with different characters. There’s a marked difference between 2007 or 2009, which are both overtly rich, and 2010, which has high acidity, for example, providing a style for every taste.

2013 Rain at harvest meant that early pickers did best, so the wines tend to be light and fresh. This is a vintage for early drinking.

2012 Warm August and cool September gave good results, with a classic balance of fruit to acidity. It was especially successful for Pinot Noir.

2011 Decent but not great vintage, generally giving a fresh, fruity style; not much in the way of late harvest wines. Dry wines should be drunk early.

2010 Very high acidity caused many wines to take time to come around. Riesling can still be piercing, but the best wines are fresh and pure with classic minerality, and should have longevity. There are few late harvest wines.

2009 Precocious vintage in rich style, with powerful Rieslings and opulent Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer. Alcohol is high for dry wines.

2008 Generally cool season saved by Indian summer; the style is often restrained, and some wines were slow to open. Not as good as 2007 or 2009.

2007 Regarded as a great vintage all round, rich with even Riesling tending to opulence rather than minerality. Possibly the richest since 1997, with some great botrytized wines.

2006 A variable year, with rather heterogeneous results resulting from difficulties with getting to ripeness, but good acidity for Rieslings.

2005 Not such a good year in Alsace as elsewhere in France, with some problems reaching ripeness; grand crus are the most reliable.

2004 High yields resulted in lack of concentration. Rieslings performed best. There are few late harvest wines.

2003 The great heat of this vintage produced wines that matured early, although some of the reds have been very fine.

2002 Difficult year because of alternating hot and cold conditions, but the best wines had good structure and acidity, and sufficient ripeness.

2001 Poor and late start to season, recovery in August, then problems in September, but wines were harvested in October Indian summer, giving some exceptionally fine late harvest wines.

2000 An early start was followed by a favorable growing season, but there were heavy rains in October. Dry wines are good, if not outstanding, and there are even some late harvest wines.

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