Domaine Albert Boxler Riesling Selection de Grains Nobles

點擊次數：1582

Originating in the Dudenstein, like the corresponding V.T., Boxler’s 2009 Riesling Sommerberg Selection de Grains evokes quince jelly along with poached pear in syrup of lily, rowan and vine flower, dusted with cinnamon and nutmeg. Strikingly delicate and wafting – albeit at the expense of rather extreme sweetness – this polished, refined elixir then surprises by the degree to which its soothing finish reveals a rivulet of fresh fruit juiciness. A bottle that had been open for a week evinced enhanced spiciness and seductive floral perfume, with a slightly diminished sense of sheer sweetness. This ought to be worth following for at least 20 years. Jean Boxler relates that in 2009 he picked some parcels of young wines early due to stress, then sold off the juice; and any under 15 years’ age he didn’t even bother to pick. Eventually, when he harvested his older vines and best sites, the sugar levels were the same – but not the flavors. He deftly charted a course with most of the resulting wines between alcohol and residual sugar, but to the extent it was unavoidable, sinned on the side of sweetness. From 2008, almost predictably given the track record at this address, Boxler rendered sharply focused, minerally complex, yet seductively fruit-filled wines that should prove excellent both as keepers and as partners with cuisine. Boxler compares these wines with his 2002s and finds then “definitely more interesting than the 2001s.” While most of the 2008s finished fermenting already by Christmas – which is par for the course chez Boxler – he points out that several of the extraordinary wines from the Brand lingered into spring. (For some detail on among other things Boxler’s different Riesling parcels, see my report in issue 188.)Importer: Robert Chadderdon Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 757-8185

Boxler’s 2008 Pinot Gris Sommerberg Selection de Grains Nobles manages uncannily to marry brown-spiced peach preserves, orange liqueur, marzipan, and honey-like slick of pure botrytis secretion with the mouthwatering, exuberant juiciness of fresh peach, orange, and Persian melon. Perfume of rowan and honeysuckle adds an ethereal allure to the performance. Silken-textured and slick with glycerin, this succulent, buoyant elixir glides to a soothing yet stimulating, refreshing and nearly interminable finish of utmost clarity and refinement. A levitating, exhilarating monument to the potential of Pinot Gris in 2008, it should remain fresh for three or four decades. Jean Boxler relates that in 2009 he picked some parcels of young wines early due to stress, then sold off the juice; and any under 15 years’ age he didn’t even bother to pick. Eventually, when he harvested his older vines and best sites, the sugar levels were the same – but not the flavors. He deftly charted a course with most of the resulting wines between alcohol and residual sugar, but to the extent it was unavoidable, sinned on the side of sweetness. From 2008, almost predictably given the track record at this address, Boxler rendered sharply focused, minerally complex, yet seductively fruit-filled wines that should prove excellent both as keepers and as partners with cuisine. Boxler compares these wines with his 2002s and finds then “definitely more interesting than the 2001s.” While most of the 2008s finished fermenting already by Christmas – which is par for the course chez Boxler – he points out that several of the extraordinary wines from the Brand lingered into spring. (For some detail on among other things Boxler’s different Riesling parcels, see my report in issue 188.)Importer: Robert Chadderdon Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 757-8185

Boxler’s 2007 Riesling Sommerberg Selection de Grains – largely from the Dudenstein – smells musky and carnal in a way that puts me more in mind of Pinot Gris, or perhaps even of Jurancon. Scents and flavors of mirabelle preserves, marzipan, pineapple, and grapefruit marmalade make for welcome diversity, but right now the wine’s 160 grams of residual sugar are dominating the finish. There’s no question this will be well worth revisiting over the next several decades, but I would reserve judgment for now as to whether it is going to make great wine. Jean Boxler emphasizes the contrast between one of the earliest and hastiest harvest ever at his family’s estate – “just three days after I finished bottling the 2005s, and then every day, including Sunday” – in order to salvage clean fruit in 2006; and the protracted harvest of 2007. “In fact,” he explains, “I started in 2006 with the intention of harvesting grapes for cremant, but they were already too ripe.” Thanks to meticulous vineyard practices and early picking, a surprisingly consistent and satisfying collection resulted. “Half the fruit was already on the ground,” he observes, by the time he could pick his best sites. Boxler’s crew knows the difference between good and bad botrytis, he assured me, yet even so, each carried a second bucket into which to drop any fruit about which uncertainty remained, and those lots were subjected to test pressings and severe scrutiny, generally ending up discarded. Boxler’s best 2007s are predictably finer, more structured, and more refined, although the vintage’s superiority is only obvious when it comes to single-vineyard bottlings. “I could live with a vintage like it every year,” he quips. When asked about his aspirations and his role in upholding the reputation of his family’s extraordinary estate, Jean Boxler says he does not want to get any bigger so as to keep complete control, and adds that he doesn’t have a single day free from his vineyards and cellar to go out and sell wine anywhere, so Americans should please not feel offended that he hasn’t – save for a brief, youthful stage in Oregon – ever visited them!Importer: Robert Chadderdon Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 757-8185