Schoffit’s 2004 Pinot Gris Rangen de Thann Clos Saint Theobald represents the roughly 40% of his crop of Pinot Gris there that he salvaged from the rain. Smokiness of botrytis and smokiness of site come together in an aromatic display of striking pungency. A creamy, rich palate performance offers a sheer density and a hint of vanilla and citrus rind bitterness to somewhat offset the wine’s sweetness. A medicinal sweet-pungent cast and mysterious Rangen and botrytis smokiness inform the somewhat sweet-sour finish. Bernard Schoffit’s 2004s are all to some degree marked by the vintage rains, but his Rangen de Thann vineyards were drenched for eight days in a row at the end of October, necessitating virtually wholesale de-classification of what little was picked. In his Harth vineyards just outside Colmar, it was the 2005 vintage that resulted in below normal yields, thanks to desiccation and botrytis. Schoffit generates opulent, rich, generally low-acid wines from the latter sites, as is perfectly illustrated by his “l(fā)ow end” wines.Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800