April Wine Focus - Spring in Alsace

CS, pity you are not able to sample some of the Gewurz from BC/Okanagan. We have some excellent dry wines coming from this region!

[Jenise]

Over two nights, we drank a 2008 Meyer-Fonne Edelzwicker that I found at a local supermarket on Tuesday. I knew nothing about it (I had not been following this thread, as I don't drink many Alsatians), but purchased it because it's a Kermit Lynch import. And Kermie never disappoints! Looks like it's a popular producer in this thread, and the wine made it clear why that would and should be. Edelzwicker, for those who don't know though I imagine everyone in this thread does, translates to 'noble blend', and apparently such blends are popular in Alsace. This one is 60% pinot blanc with chasselas and muscat--though I did not know that while drinking it, I only looked it up minutes ago. What a gorgeous nose: very floral and perfumed with something vaguely skunky (the muscat, methinks). On the palate, there's also a perfume flavor along with minerals, lemony citrus, kaffir lime leaf and caraway seed. Good body with depth and concentration and perfect acidity that cleans the perfumed sweetness out of the finish. Both unusual and excellent.

[David M. Bueker]

Skunky doesn't sound so good. The rest sure does!

[Jenise]

Skunky doesn't sound so good. The rest sure does!

Skunky is one of those things that can be attractive or repelling. I think Bob preferred the term 'musky' to my 'skunky', which keeps it more animalistic but avoids comparing it to Heinekkin beer, say. This was extremely mild, and in such a complex wine it integrated--more on day two than day one, of course.

Edelzwicker seemed to be around whenever I visited Alsace or stayed in Basle with grand-parents.

2002 Marcel Deiss Engelgarten

Now fate knows how to really laugh at a man. After all my amazement at never having had a corked bottle, or any really damaged bottle really, I pop this and when the cork practically came out on it's on and wave of sherry hit me in the nose, man I know I've been had. So it's not corked per se, but the enclosure is definitely part of the problem as well as some handling issues. Scratch one Deiss. Shame it seemed like there was some really interesting stuff going on behind the cooking wine.

2002 Marcel Deiss Engelgarten

Now fate knows how to really laugh at a man. After all my amazement at never having had a corked bottle, or any really damaged bottle really, I pop this and when the cork practically came out on it's on and wave of sherry hit me in the nose, man I know I've been had. So it's not corked per se, but the enclosure is definitely part of the problem as well as some handling issues. Scratch one Deiss. Shame it seemed like there was some really interesting stuff going on behind the cooking wine.

Was there another bottle of Alsatian wine on deck ready to take its place?

Unfortunately, as we sit here on the last official day of topic, no. I did pick up several in anticipation of this month's subject, but life being what it is they weren't in the queue. Having a lovely Torrontés at the moment which to me is the most Alsatian like wine not to come from Alsace.

I have to say I was really looking forward to the Deiss given all that I've read. Thankfully I hadn't been sitting on it for years to have this happen. Also I'm going to see if I can return it as it is prominently and permanently stickered from the retailer from whence it was purchased.

Schneider's of Capitol Hill has made good the bottle (no hassle at all, in fact they were quite pleasant about the whole thing even apologizing). I'll pop this in the fridge and report on it over the next few days hopefully.

2002 Marcel Deiss Engelgarten
$36.00

Per the importer's website the 2007 vintage was comprised of Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Beurot, Muscat. I can buy that or something very close for the '02.

I went back to Schneider's to return the bottle, as per the above, and whilst I thought I had got the last one they had four more on hand. Two had dubious capsules with some ooze looking damage (pass) one had a slightly bulging capsule/cork (pass) and the final bottle seemed intact. Muerte o Gloria! When it came time to release the beast once again the cork came out as if greased. I have to say that had me worried. There were no off aromas and the cork wasn't brittle or otherwise dried out. Golden yellow in the glass, a waft of Ries-o-line (I am hereby trademarking this term to refer the gasoline/petrol like aroma that really doesn't smell like petrol that Riesling related wines can give off, you may use this term for a very small fee) and some complex spicy notes very much in the category of "this wine is certainly from Alsace" category. Though as I got more into it, it's from the Martian side of Alsace. I still don't even know where to begin with the taste. I guess officially this is in the off dry zone, though it played dry, bearing in mind that I seem to be drinking sweeter than I think I do. The fruit was of the baked variety and there was spice of the ginger variety, but there was also a whole range of alien flavors I can't even begin to figure out. If I didn't know better I'd swear there was Viognier in there with that plastic fruit thing that that grape can sometimes do. Suffice it say I really like this wine! I reminded a bit both in flavor profile and in the field blend approach of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1Ze07AdS44

Disparate sounds...er..flavors coalescing into one vibey thing. Night two was more of the same. Appears to me to be a survivor.

As a side rant, WTF is up with these corks? It seems to me if they were just the wrong size (too small in diameter). I've read on Cellertracker from other folks who have had enclosure problems with this vintage. This wine paged me on the white courtesy phone and I was almost ready to go to lands unknown, but this cork issue almost has me wine agoraphoric. Erring on the side of caution, I will seek out a more recent vintage and see what it has to say for itself.