We are told the Grand Cru Brand is best for Pinot grape varieties? Does pretty well with Riesling too. This is a vivid, lively example of utter pleasure.
Riesling Grand Cru Brand 2002, Domaine Albert Boxler
The nose, ah the nose. It has so much earthy minerality and yet bursts with clean, ripe citrus fruit. This is a really expressive and compelling nose, it smells like a wine made from pampered vines from a great vineyard. Sure there is some scale here, but finesse as well; it is enjoyable to sniff. There is a lot of that complex minerality and earthiness on the palate and the fruit is well integrated in this earthy, acidic, slightly astringent structure. The astringency is very slight and adds to the complexity of the tastes and textures. These facets of the wine are indeed very complex and persist long, long after you have swallowed. I don’t think you need to keep this wine any longer. It is not old, quite fresh in fact, but running the risk of such a great wine being oxidised is too high a price. You want to drink and enjoy these wines before they get shagged out.
Every time I have a Boxler wine my love for them increases. The man can turn his hand to any Alsace varietal and make one of the top examples of the region. Sure the Rieslings are best and most spell-binding, but if you go to a tasting chez Boxler you would be a fool to turn down any wine offered, be it Grand Cru or generic.
