In the early nineties Jean-Michel Deiss was making spell-binding, exciting, thrilling Riesling; I snapped up all I could find and afford. Then, for some presumably psychotic reason, he decided that Riesling wasn't good enough on its own. He turned his interest to making field blends of different grape varieties, picking, fermenting and ageing them together. These wines have always been repulsively disgusting; they have confused flavours and unsatisfactory ageing profiles. They are also distractingly laced with residual sugar. I feel Jean-Michel has let down all the fans of his very best wines by producing such filth.

At my last tasting chez Deiss I hated every wine we tried, and I have to say I didn't take to the man himself largely because of the crap he spewed justifying his bonkers wine-making philosophy. One of the wines we tried was notably horrible, the 2000 Mambourg Grand Cru blend. It was oxidised and lacking any form of character that one would hope to be charmed by. Deiss himself claimed that this was the best wine he had ever made. Totally bonkers, I tell you. But not as hat-stand as me, it turns out. When I saw a bottle of this on a wine merchant's shelf I committed an act of pure insanity and purchased it.

I blame this screamingly butt-hole-crazy action on a residual degree of respect for M. Deiss; after all he had made some of the best Alsace Riesling I have had. But this is not really a good enough excuse. I'd tried the wine and it was mind-bendingly horrible. I have to stand up and say I made a horrific mistake and thrown good money away. I am worthy only of mockery for having purchased this shameful travesty of a wine. I'll age the wine as long as Deiss said it would last (15-20 years! Ha! What a twat) and pour it with the knowledge that I'll have opened and finally got rid of the worst bottle of wine I will ever own.

Lovely wines from Jean Boxler, especially his Rieslings. This is my last report from my holiday; I hope you have found them to be instructive.

Pinot Blanc "A" 2006
This is Boxler's basic Pinot Blanc rather than the one from the Brand Grand Cru. Nice gooseberry fruit with hints of pear. It is rather tasty with spiciness and weight. More than a degree of interest here.

Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg JV 2006
This is the Sommerberg young vines cuvee. Nice elegant nose of fruit and creaminess. Some density of flavour on the palate, but it is the fruit and complexity that lift this into being a good experience.

Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg L31E 2006
There is real intensity to the nose with powerful creamy minerality. Smells lovely. Quite dry with real complexity driven by the powerful minerality. Really lovely.

Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg L31D 2006
A profound nose of rich minerality and great citrus fruit. This is the cat's rude bits. Tastes pretty dry with present acidity and a lot of mineral complexity. Tits++.

Riesling Grand Cru Brand 2006
Ripe, peachy nose. Buxom palate, quite long, but the flavours seem a touch confused and lacking harmony. Nice, but no Cuban to suck on.

Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg Vendanges Tardives 2004
Real late harvest character of preserved fruit. Has lots of minerality, too. The palate is quite weighty and dense, but the fine acidity coupled with the sophisticated minerality make this seriously top bunny.

Pinot Gris 2006
Good white fruit and spice on the nose. Rich, weighty, spicy palate. This is reasonably complex and quite pleasing.

Muscat Grand Cru Brand 2006
Floral nose, with a hint of mint. Also a hint of drain cleaner which is not so attractive. Bit lean and dirty on the palate. Simple too. No thanks.

Pinot Gris Grand Cru Brand 2006
A subtle, perfumed nose on peach, spice and minerality. The palate has good scale, but the acidity and minerality keep this in great form. Really tasty, I am impressed.

Pinot Gris Grand Cru Sommerberg Vendanges Tardives 2005
An expressive nose of deep character. Great fruit, great minerality. Lovely depth and harmony on the palate. Real class, real style. Kick-arse good.

Pinot Gris Grand Cru Brand Selection des Grains Nobles 2005
Botrytis on the nose which is in perfect harmony with the white fruit and spice of the grape. The palate is perfectly balanced and as far as the finish goes: whoa, steroid boy!

A couple of bottles squeezed in between tastings.

Riesling Grand Cru Altenberg de Bergbieten 2002, Frederic Mochel
A reasonable pleasing nose of fruit which, together with its creaminess, suggest this should be reasonably attractive. The palate, alas, is not so pleasing. It is quite one-dimensional. A passable drink, but don't expect any fireworks.

Gewurztraminer Vendanges Tardives 2002, Andre Kientzler
Lots and lots of botrytis on the nose, very apricot. But is there is Gewurztraminer spice and banana finesse to it. The palate is quite dry, with a powerful, weighty structure. Not much minerality, I have to say, but nice enough.

Riesling de chez Riesling. Pierre Trimbach delivers the good if you like your wines to be dry.

Pinot Blanc 2005
Soft white fruit on the nose and palate with reasonable acidity. A nice enough drink.

Riesling 2006
A pleasing citrus nose, some creaminess. Nice fruit and good acidity on the palate. Should be a nice enough drink now with food.

Riesling Reserve 2006
Pretty, fine aromas. A good creaminess to it. Very pleasing fruit and a nice body. This seems fleshier than this wine usually is; making it, for such a basic wine at least, reasonably tits.

Riesling Cuvee M 2003
From the Mandelberg Grand Cru. Ripe, buxom pineapple fruit that expresses itself very clearly. It is mineral, too. This exists a lot on the palate as well which, along with the good acidity, keeps this lively.

Risling Cuvee Frederic Emile 2002
Nice spiced ripe apple fruit. There is a hint of petrol but it leans more toward ripe citrus. The palate has a concentrated depth of flavour and great acidity. Perfectly harmonious.

Riesling Clos Saint Hune 2003
Really ripe exotic flavours to inhale and enjoy. The palate is a touch fat, with merely passable acidity. It just manages to be nicely balanced and I love its complexity. Yum.

Riesling Cuvee Frederic Emile 2000
Nice limy green fruit, with a lovely mineral tang. The palate has serious stuffing, lots of weight and plenty of acidity. An excellent wine that is completely Trimbach in style.

Riesling Cuvee Frederic Emile 1997
A really complex nose. There is a lot going on there: honey, limes, melon, apple, creaminess. The palate is open and lovely. Great fragrance. Great fun now but with a lot of life ahead.

Riesling Cuvee Frederic Emile 1995
Very mineral nose that has a strange ginger bread character to it, this is not off-putting, though. Real elegance and finesse on the palate with a lovely developed finish. Nice age to drink it.

Riesling Cuvee Frederic Emile 2001 375th anniversary cuvee
An expressive, vivacious nose of compelling ripe fruit and a lot of stony fruit. The palate really draws you in, with lots of ripe fruit and really sophisticated minerality. Great finish.

Riesling Cuvee Frederic Emile 1990
Lovely nose that explodes with petrol action. Real complexity here. It is complex on the palate, too, with refined fruit and great acid. Seriously up for drinking with a lot of pleasure.

Riesling Clos Saint Hune 1983
Super ripe fruit on the nose and real creamy minerality too. This smells utterly wonderful. The palate sings a song of refined beauty which really fuels my passion for this wine.

A top place to visit when you are in the area; he may not always hit the spot, especially with the more minor wines, but when he does there is complexity and style-a-go-go. Morever, there is a great tarte flambee place just around the corner.

Pinot Blanc 2007
Nice, charming fruit. Some creaminess. Very good acidity makes this lively.

Sylvaner Vieille Vigne 2007
Quite fresh and grassy on the nose, but rather understated. Piss boring palate with bugger all fruit and bugger all of anything else, if we are honest.

Cremant d'Alsace
This is more than a bit dirty on the nose. No. No way. The palate is a god-awful melange of really dire flavours that are completely repulsive.

Muscat 2005
Honeysuckle nose with the perfume of freshly-cut grass. Smells reasonably appealing. The palate is very light and it appears as far as drinking this goes the train left the station a couple of years ago.

Riesling 2006
Fresh, light nose of lime fruit. Creamy palate with sharp, bright acidity which make this a lot of fun.

Riesling Grand Cru Florimont 2003
Baked apple on the nose, with a really compelling edge of minerality. The palate is charmingly fat, with a very voluptuous body. It does have enough acidity to keep the balance top bunny, though.

Riesling Grand Cru Pfersigberg 2003
Nice concentration of rich, ripe citrus fruit. It is also quite peachy. Serious complexity on the nose. The palate has a lot of weight and a lot of groovy style. Very good indeed.

Riesling Grand Cru Pfersigberg Vieille Vigne 2003
Serious density and fat. Weight and power on the palate, rather than much in the way of acidity. Impressive, but not so well balanced. This is not fitting in with Sorg's house style.

Riesling Grand Cru Florimont 2005
Now this has a nose: expressive, livid and lively. A lovely froal character to the nose. The palate is bursting with lovely, lovely fruit, with crisp acidity and great body. Classy tits, man.

Riesling Grand Cru Pfersigberg 2004
The nose is a little closed, but the Grand Cru character pokes its head out. The palate has good density, but the lightness given by the strong acid and powerful minerality make this lovely.

Riesling Grand Cru Pfersigberg 2005
A pronouced stone character on the nose, with good lime fruit. This has a pleasing harmony between dense favours and elegant acidity. This is a pretty lush bottle.

Pinot Gris 2007
Lychee, rambutan and peaches on the nose. Smells lovely. The palate is quite lively, but there is a good desnity to it. This is really good for a basic Pinot Gris.

Pinot Gris Vieille Vigne 2005
Toasted sesame seed on the nose that bursts with white fruit. Lots of depth here. The palate has plenty of fruity charm and a very pleasing old vines depth of concentration. Lovely++

Pinot Gris Grand Cru Florimont 2005
Ha ha! This smells lovely. Peachy, grapey  fruit that expresses itself in a complex whole. It has a tad of residual sugar, but that is no problem. We are talking top balance with great acidity and creamy minerality.

Pinot Gris Grand Cru Pfersigberg 2005
Lovely nose that is pretty complex. The palate has density of character and a fleshy finish of sweet fruit. This is another deeply pleasing wine.

Gewurztraminer 2006
Liquorice, banana, spice are all present on the nose. Smells quite pleasing for a basic wine. The palate, however, is less of a hit; thin and light with not much of the body you'd expect from a Gewurztraminer.

Gewurztraminer Vieille Vigne 2005
An intense nose of banana action. The palate has better concentration than the last wine, but it is still a bit simple.

Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Pfersigberg 2006
Nice lychee fruit on the nose that suggests you are up for a louche time when you plunge in. The palate has lots of spiciness and lovely fruit that really persists on the finish. Undeniable complexity here. Lovely stuff.

Gewurztraminer Vendange Tardive 2005
An incredibly expressive nose, wonderful, wonderful fruit with some pronounced botrytis character. Bags of style to the nose. The palate bursts with fruit and minerality, with a perfectly balanced sweetness, Great elegance and class, too. Yeah!

Gewurztraminer is one of those grape varieties one either loves or loathes. This is a damned good example that is up for drinking now.

Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Altenbourg "Cuvee Laurence" 2002, Domaine Weinbach
This has a lovely nose of banana fruit and rich spiciness. There is some real earthy complexity here, which raises this wine above the normal Gewurztraminer simplicity. Even though the fruit is very ripe this is no booze-tastic horror; it is perfectly balanced. I love its mineral charm. On the palate the fruit reminds me very much of those foam banana sweets, a wine for those in touch with their youthful-side. The palate is surprisingly, and pleasingly, dry. OK, there is plenty of fruit and a hint of alcohol warmth, but these don't detract from what is a very pleasing palate. This is not a bottle of Zind-Humbrecht tart-fuel as so many people expect from Alsace Gewurzt. There is a real degree of complexity and style here. I admit I don't drink Gewurzt that often, it rarely provides as much pleasure as this,  but I am enjoying this wine greatly. I have simple needs, I am easily satisfied with the best, and this wine is satisfying me no end. I'd drink it within the next few years. The Weinbach ladies are lovely people (bien loché, if I am honest) and they make top bunny wines. Well worth looking out for any of their Grand Cru offerings.

... But, bollocks, I am going to try. This really is the cat's arse, opened to have with pan-fried foie gras

Riesling Grand Cru Schlossberg Vendanges Tardives "Trie Speciale" 2004, Domaine Weinbach
Hell's bells, this has one of the most dense, livid and expressive noses I have ever encountered. I mean, man, it is mind-bendingly good. It has candied citrus fruit, incredible amounts of minerality and simply oozes high class action from every pore. This is the nun's nethers. The complexity and style are mind blowing, but the balance is simply beautiful. The palate? A delight! It is not terribly sweet, but it has mind-buggering quantities of acidity, minerality, extract, flavour and class. It has real density and yet dances across my palate like some schoolboy with an over fondness for flowery shirts. This is quite the most incredible Alsace sweetie I have had in years. I utterly love it, it is a hoopy roller-coaster ride of hallucinogenic drugs as far as mind-altering experiences go. I got the partner a bottle of this for christmas, didn't I do well? Drink now with extraordinary pleasure or age for seven to thirty years.

The wines of Bruno Sorg are great value, always worth a punt when you see them. This is particularly true of this wine and the old vines flavour.

Riesling Grand Cru Pfersigberg 2004, Domaine Bruno Sorg
A lovely nose of baked apples and rich minerality. This smells pretty complex and stylish; it is certainly very mineral. Yum. The palate is very dry, with some weight from the ripeness and some real concentration there. Plenty of acidity is fizzing away on the palate which could have made this very linear, but it is broad enough to be merely direct. Really stylish with great length on the finish. This is really quite delicious, a bargain at fifteen sheets.

Now that is what a call a fine wine. Jean Boxler hits the spot once again even in this difficult vintage

Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg L31D 2003, Domaine Boxler
The nose explodes with an array of exciting, compelling flavours. There is peachy fruit there, along with fresh redcurrant, it has a rich minerality, and is extraordinarily complex. Yummy, smells good, I rather fancy. The palate has some breadth, but is kept lively by a sharp mineral tang and good acidity. The acid and the fruit persist on the finish to make this a very refreshing drink, despite all of its size and complexity. Tasty stuff. Long, stylish, complex and even tasty, what more could a loony ask for? Excellent.

Last night as I dozed in bed I started thinking about one of my favourite producers: Jean Boxler. As well as being a charming fellow, he has made some of the best wines I've had from Alsace. Right through his range there are wines that both intellectually stimulate and titillate with visceral pleasure. They are not that pricey, either.

I first visited M. Boxler with a group of friends, he was an addition to our list of old favourites in the spirit of trying someone new. This was a terribly good move. We tried the 2000s and a few older wines. Experiencing the vivid, striking nature of those wines for the first time is a memory that will remain with me forever. We tried his basic wines with increasing excitement and then he explained about the different plots of Riesling on the Sommerberg Grand Cru he owned, each of which he vinified separately. The different wines from these plots were noticeably different, and a couple were mind-bendingly good. When these are bottled the only distinction on the label is a cryptic code number on top left-hand corner of the label. If memory serves the codes are: L31JV, L31, L31E, L31D and L31D2. The L31JV is a younger-vines cuvée and is a good buy. I seem to recall L31D2 was only made in the 2002 vintage. The L31E and L31D(2) wines are both made from old vines from different soil types and these are easily among the best wines made in Alsace at the moment. He also makes a Riesling from the Brand Grand Cru.

Even though he is clearly a master of Riesling, his other varietal wines are also delicious. They all have marvellous varietal character, but show a high degree of minerality and complexity. The Pinot Blanc 'B' (from the Brand Grand Cru) is probably the best Pinot Blanc I've ever tried. His Brand Pinot Gris has delicious fruit and a real creamy Alsace character. Normally heady Gewürztraminer is balanced and refined from him, but not short on style and class.

I've reported on a few Boxler wines here, jolly good they were too. Apart from that corked one (curses). If you'd like to try some of these wines I'd suggest visiting and then buying all he will sell you. Alternatively, UK readers can try here for drinking wines, and here for slightly more serious stuff. The 04 L31E will age really well. Overseas readers can search for Boxler on Wine Searcher.

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PS. I must apologise for the lack on entries recently. I am violently ill and wine makes me blow bits. Quite depressing, really.

Jean-Michel Deiss used to make really good, single-varietal wines in Alsace. Then he appeared to go quite mad and started making blends of different grape varieties; I've hated every one of them I've tried. This is one of the last vintages he made named-vineyard vendanges tardives (late harvest wines), so I hope it is a pleasing view into the past of someone who used to be one of my favourite Alsace producers. This is only 11.5% alcohol.

Riesling Grand Cru Altenberg de Bergheim Vendanges Tardives 1994, Domaine Marcel Deiss
This looks really quite orange and mature. It smells of baked apples, with candied citrus and petrol hints. There is a rich earthiness to it. The nose suggests this is really rather mature. The palate tastes surprisingly dry, but is obviously ripe and powerful even though it seems to lack fruit. There is some good acidity there and minerals show on the finish, but this really isn't terribly complex or long. Simple and short are not features I would have expected from this, but sadly that is what the wine is like. Alas, this just tastes a bit over-mature; not oxidised, but on its way out certainly. How disappointing! I had hoped for an excellent Deiss wine of old and all I got was an old Deiss wine. At least it is not one of his filth blends; one of them would be completely dead by now and taste awful.

Last night I had another bottle of Riesling Grand Cru Rangen 2003 from Zind-Humbrecht. It was bloody awful. So hot and confected it tasted more like child's sweets than a bottle of fine wine. I hated it with a passion. So much so that the bottle still sits in the fridge with only two glasses gone from it; it'll go down the sink shortly.

It has been years since I last tried a wine from this producer. I wonder if he still makes barrique fermented Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris... Oh dear... I wasn't a fan of them. I always remember this wine being good, though.

Riesling Grand Cru Muenchberg 2002, Domaine Ostertag
It smells of fresh melon and freshly squeezed grapes. It has a good mineral tang to the nose. On the palate there is plenty of fruit, again it is quite melon-y with freshly squeezed table grape flavours. The mid-palate builds some weight which is perfectly balanced by the acidity. The overall impression is of quite a small-scale but certainly beautiful wine. I imagine it would age very well.

Zind-Humbrecht do not hold back when it comes to making large-scale wines. Even in moderate vintages they can be real behemoths. 2003 was incredibly hot all over Europe, so some very ripe wines have been produced. Z-H produced some wines that have been quite terrifying in terms of ripeness.

Riesling Grand Cru Rangen Clos Saint-Urbain 2003, Domaine Zind-Humbrecht
The nose smells very strongly of tropical fruit-flavour chews, really confected. It smells quite hot and alcoholic too, despite only being a claimed 13.5%. Much to my surprise the palate is pretty much dry, lots of sweetness from the alcohol and confected fruit, but not so much sugar there. It is really confected, though, and I found it hard to discern any real terroir characteristics. Most of the class has been roasted out of this. I suppose it is quite a crowd-pleasing drink, but hardly fine Riesling. The price was pretty steep.

Trimbach make some great Rieslings. They don't do malolactic fermentation to soften the acid and ferment them dry so they can be quite austere and rigorous. Given plenty of time in the cellar they can become really charming and lovely. Being a late harvest wine has helped with the charm factor in this wine.

Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile Vendanges Tardives 1990, F. E. Trimbach
A lovely, opulent nose of creamy minerality and mature apple fruit. The nose is very complex and suggests the wine is drinking as well now as it is ever going to; good maturity there. The palate has plenty of weight and fat, but is not really that sweet. It has got great acidity, serious length and real complexity. It is very stylish and very lovely. Perfect for drinking now as this is as mature as one could wish for; still in fine fettle. This is really intellectual and exciting, but also full of charm and pleasure. Excellent Riesling.

One of the problems with Zind-Humbrecht wine is that you can never really know before you taste them what they are going to be like. Olivier Humbrecht has stated putting an indication of sweetness on the labels, but so far this seems to be quite a fanciful scale with little grounding in reality. The wines are usually incredibly alcoholic and this, clocking in at 15%, is no different. I've had some very good Zind-Humbrecht wines and I do own a few bottles that are in my cellar, but they can just be a bit tiresome.

Pinot Gris Clos Windsbuhl 2002, Domaine Zind-Humbrecht
Quite a dark yellow colour. The nose has some Pinot Gris spice and white fruit, but it is largely dominated by alcohol. It does smell very hot and cooked. The palate is largely dry, ignoring the sweetness that comes from the alcohol, and does have some Pinot Gris roundness on the palate. However, the finish is simply terrible. It is really hot with alcohol and leaves a lingering burning sensation which is just dreadful. When I first tasted this I thought it was quite a good Zind-Humbrecht wine, but when I swallowed I realised that finishing my glass would be a difficult and draining experience; it was also likely to leave me as 'tired and emotional' as a newt. The finish and balance were woefully poor in this wine, not a good Z-H wine. 

2003 was a crazy year in Europe, so hot. This wine demonstrates the problems with that.

Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Hengst 2003, Domaine Zind-Humbrecht
This honks of raw booze. An incredibly hot and alcoholic nose. What fruit there is is so confected it smells of foam banana sweets. There is no acidity to speak of. The palate has a huge alcohol sweetness which turns to a burn on the finish. It is quite sweet. All of the spice and fruit has been roasted out of the palate. This is hugely out of balance and is not fun to drink. No. To think Olivier Humbrecht made a more alcoholic Gewurztraminer in 2003, the mind boggles.

Another Boxler wine, different vintage this time. Again the L31D refers to a plot of the oldest vines that are harvested very ripe

Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg L31D 2001, Domaine Albert Boxler
A very stony, mineral nose with plenty of ripe, citric fruit. The nose seems quite linear and intense. There is some fat on the palate, but this wine seems largely to be about minerality and acidity. Not to say there is any lack of fruit, but this is quite a direct style. It is very long, with a creamy minerality and fruity weight finishing it off. Is this as good as the stunning 2002? Probably in the same league, but a slightly different style. Undoubtedly a fine wine and a lovely drink. I do like this very much.

Another bottle of Boxler Sommerberg L31E 2002. This is a really beautiful, powerful yet balanced wine. The fruit is superb, as is the acidity and minerality. Really top bunny. I look forward to trying the rest of my partner's stash in many years time.

I just felt in need of beauty tonight.

Riesling Brauneberger-Juffer Sonnenuhr Auslese Goldkapsel Fuder 9 1994, Fritz Haag
A beautiful nose of botrytis, slate and petrol. The nose is quite developed. The palate has really quite a lot of acidity, but is balanced by plenty of ripeness and fruit. It is very long and speaks of where it was grown. A seriously lovely wine.

Riesling Cuvée Frédéric-Emile 1990, Trimbach
This started off being surprisingly closed. However, it opened up to reveal plenty of limy fruit on the nose along with a creamy minerality. The palate was very long and complex, with austere lime fruit, earthy richness and an almost toasty finish. Very good, once it had opened up.

Tonight's wine comes from a genius when he was at the height of his powers; as opposed to now when he produces filth.

Riesling Grand Cru Schoenenbourg 1993, Domaine Marcel Deiss
This has a beautiful, exotic nose of passion fruit, mango, lime and earth. It is quite a German-style Riesling nose. The palate is wonderfully balanced and precise, and almost totally dry unlike his more recent offerings. This acidity is strong but perfectly balanced. The palate of this wine is like Michelangelo's David: beautifully sculpted, elegant, yet quite masculine. There is plenty of fruit, the finish is very long and it really speaks of where it was grown. This is a fabulous wine. Why, Jean-Michel Deiss, did you start making atrocious monstrosities rather than beauties like this?

Jean Boxler hits the spot once again with a brilliant wine. The mystic code refers to the plot of the Sommerberg Grand Cru that this wine is made from.

Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg L31E 2002, Domaine Albert Boxler
The nose is incredibly stony but has a lot of ripe fruit; grapefruit and pineapple. The mineral character is carried through on the palate, which is very concentrated and dense yet balanced by a fine acidity. Although this is full-bodied and weighty, it is completely dry. The ripe fruit stands out on the finish, which is long with fine acidity and minerality. This is a deeply lovely wine from a Riesling master that will age exceptionally well. Quite stunning in its complexity and style. I love it.

I swore that if I purchased any 2003 European white wines (after my disaster with buying German stuff) I should be mercilessly mocked. So, stick a dunce's cap on me and stand me in the corner because today's glass of wine with the cricket was:

Domaine Albert Boxler Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg L31D 2003
Jean Boxler is a charming and gifted young man. He can also do things with Riesling that would make your eyes water with pleasure. He vinifies each plot of the Grand Cru Sommerberg Riesling separately and produces a range of wines that are all recognisably Sommerberg, but all have an individual charm and character. The L31D is the cuvée from his oldest vines. Obviously 2003 was far too hot for serious white wines to be generally made, but M. Boxler did make damned good stuff. This is a bit hot and alcoholic (best drank out of the fridge) but the fruit, concentration, complexity and style make this one exciting, racy, booze-tastic drink. I really enjoyed it. There was acidity and mam-loads of minerality. This was a seriously glass of quite large-scale Riesling. Cheers, Jean.

Obviously, Riesling is best with cricket; Champagne or Fino Sherry will do at a pinch.

Finally, you can point at me in my corner and shout "Shame!" as I purchased two cases of 2003 wine from M. Boxler.