Looking at candidates for TheBarneyBox, I tried last night:
1. BottFreres AC: Vin d'Alsace GWT (ReservePersonnelle; 12.8%) 1989: Light gold color; lovely/complex/subtle spicy/cinammon/nutmeg quite perfumed/floral/gardenias beautiful nose; soft/round/lush subtle/complex very spicy/nutmeg/floral flavor; very long/lingering lovely/spicy/nutmeg very complex subtle/elegant finish; a beautiful example of fully mature Alsatian GWT.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. I've long been a fan of the BottFreres Alsatian wines since they were first introduced to me by ReneRondeau when he had moved from LiquorMart/Boulder to Draper&Esquin's/SanFrancisco. Back in those days (early/mid-'70's), the wines were brought in by Draper&Esquin Imports. They were very classic/old-style Alsatian wines...at very attractive prices. They made Riesling and GWT and Muscat d'Alsace at two levels, CuveeExceptionnelle and a VT-level ReservePersonnelle. And they aged very/very well, thank you. When the '76 vintage came into the USofA, my group bought something like 30 cases of the stuff. The last time I tried a BottFreres, a GWT that I bought from JimColey/Gomer's MidTown/KansasCity, last August, I was distinctly underwhelmed. But this '89 RP was a beautiful example of the glories of old Alsace GWT, where it had shed all the lychee and cheap hair oil character and developed to subtle spiciness that old GWT can often show. I drank the whole friggin' btl last night w/ my Quiche and was none the worse for wear as I finished off the BarneyBox.
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2. [Rant]: Back in the '70's was really the hey-day for Alsatian wines..from the consumer standpoint anyway. They were little known, they were cheap, they were dry and very food-friendly (think weenies and kraut or quicheLorrainne). Back in the good ol' days, a VendangeTardive wine was simply a late-picked version of their (whatever producer) regular wine...a bit greater in intensity and lushness, but still totally dry. And at a modest alcohol level. Yee gads...this Bott VT is only 12.8% alcohol, yet it has plenty of rich/lush character and is totally dry.
Alas, the Z-H folks came along, started harvesting much later, upped the intensity and extract, started leaving RS in the wine, jacked the price up...and the wines started garnering huge scores from noted critics. Many/many other Alsace producers jumped onto this bandwagon... and Alsace wines have never been the same. Any VT wine now has Auslese-level sweetness, 14%+ alcohol, and simply is not a wine that you want to drink much of w/ a meal....not to mention it costs $40/btl and upwards.
I really long for the good ol'days when Alsace was cheap, drinkable, low in alcohol, food-friendly, and dry. Ohhh...for the days of BottFreres, DopffAuMoulin, A.Willm/ClosGaenesbroennel, and the likes. Now....if I want to drink old-style Alsace wines and GWT, I invariably go to the SudTyrol. [/Rant]
Tom