I suppose some people would think that the world’s best Gewurztraminer would be even more pointless than the best Muscat. I disagree. A wonderful, fruity, floral Gewurz can be a baroque treat of a wine. This one is a really special treat of hilarious compelling wonderfulness.

We are told the Brand Grand Cru is best for Pinot varieties, but it strikes me that the Rieslings and Gewurztraminers can be pretty serious too. Zind-Humbrecht Brand Riesling is often stunning (even though the ZH flame has somewhat died for me). Boxler also makes a very individual Brand Riesling which is a very clear expression of the terroir. It is manifestly one of the top Alsace Grand Crus.

I do recognise the question ‘But when do you drink a wine like this?’ is a pretty good one. It’d be easy to say with cheese, but this one worked a treat as an afternoon drinkie for my chums and me; it’d be a good afternoon drink for you too.

Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Brand Vendanges Tardives 2007, Domaine Albert Boxler
The nose is very floral with rose petals and lychees. There is a rich, earthy complexity to it. Real late harvest candied fruit as well. This charms and excites, I remember my incredible enthusiasm when I first tried this at Boxler; I was right. The palate has lots of fruit, moderate sweetness and a great spicy complexity. It has massive depth and weight, but dances across my palate. Sure, it is large-scale, but not really a fighting wine; there is balance and harmony, elegance and finesse here which raise this to a much higher level of brilliance. Big but stunningly attractive, like having an amorous tussle with the 6’6” tall girlfriend I had at school. She was massive, terribly beautiful and quite, quite bonkers*. Oh yes.

*She used to eat tinned cat food. This wine is merely slightly bonkers and in a less revulsion-inducing manner.

That acidity may hurt, but it shows that you are alive. Alive and enlightened if you are drinking this. When I was a beginner in the field of German wine, a long time ago, it was generally considered that Himmelreich was the best vineyard in Graach, thanks to Schaefer that view has now changed.

Riesling Kabinett Graacher Domprobst 2007, Willi Schaefer
The nose has stunning clarity of expression. It is ripe and concentrated but very pure with pronounced lime fruit and a great slatey mineral character. This is special in the best way possible. The palate has tooth-achingly strong acidity, but it is in great harmony with the fruit and slight residual sugar. It is long with a good mineral complexity on the finish. This is a very wonderful, intense, livid and exciting bottle of Kabinett.

My first taste of this Morey-Saint-Denis producer. I like Morey a lot, and this will do just fine as a basic offering.

Morey-Saint-Denis ‘En La Rue De Vergy’ 2007, Domaine Lignier-Michelot
The nose has some good pure fruit, with an edge of that 2007 fleshiness. It smells attractive, and quite Morey in character, but it is not amazingly complex. We approve of it being Morey-ish, though. There is nice fruit on the palate but the acidity is a little high. Again, it is not the most complex wine I’ve ever tasted. This has enough character to keep it interesting and reasonably charming as a village-level wine, but it is not really anything special. To be drank when it is in this lovely stage of slightly fleshy fruitiness, I feel, but then I like young Burgundy. Go on, enjoy that Morey loveliness!

OK, it is a bit more minor than the Muscat, but we enjoyed this with a lot of pleasure. You cannot really go too far off the path if you buy Sorg. For London kids you can get it by the bottle at Fortnum’s.

Gewurztraminer Vieilles Vignes 2007, Domaine Bruno Sorg
This has a deep, rich nose of roses and a degree of liquorice/banana action is there as well. This is properly concentrated and fruity, with a reasonable degree of complexity on the nose. The palate is lovely and weighty, but with amazing acidity. Ow, ooww, oooowwww… quite a lot of acidity. There is complexity here too. This is a quite delicious and reasonably thought-provoking bottle of Gewurztraminer. Yeah, it is good.

I loved this in France, but with the drugs working and being more in control of my nut-case tendencies, everything conspired to make me feel wonderfully positive. I think my notes were accurate, but I was prepared to see the pleasing aspects of things if enough were there. Will this still be the best Muscat I've tried? I'll tell you...

Muscat Grand Cru Pfersigberg 2007, Domaine Bruno Sorg
Wow, a truly charming honeysuckle nose. Extremely floral and attractive. This is very refined but it smells like it has a good bit of density. The floral fruitiness is just ravishing, but there is a good minty minerality here which marks this out as being a step ahead. Oh, oh yes, this is a hedonistic rapture of a nose. Sure, the palate has a bit of residual sugar, but great acidity (honestly!) and a really tangy minerality. More of that mint is here. Of course, the fruit is a wanton harlot of pleasure. This is really, seriously now, the best mostly dry Muscat I've had. Why didn't we visit here in our early 90s trips, boys? We were staying in Eguisheim. There serious examples of all grape varieties here (avoid the cremant, though, it is undrinkable) and no one makes better Muscat. Neither Zind-Humbrecht nor Burn, Sorg is better.

Yes, this is still the best bottle of Muscat I've tried. I'm still feeling pretty much on top of the world.

The question is, which ones? As my long-term readers know I have almost no cash; I cannot afford much. I am torn between getting 6 bottles of good quality kabinett/spatlese type wines or 3 flashier bottles of top Auslesen. I need guidance. This calls for another fantastic Elitist Review poll!

Free Web Poll

As usual, followers of the RSS feed will have to come to the site to vote.

The partner and I were invited to a dinner party last night. We had some really good food and a few nice bottles of wine, one of which I feel the need to write about here. Cyprien Arlaud makes really beautiful Morey and 2005 was a great vintage. I’d love to own more of his Grand Crus; I’ve asked to buy a magnum of Clos Saint Denis 2008 next year. Go on, Cyprien, say yes!

Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru aux Cheseaux 2005, Domaine Arlaud
The nose is really scented and fragrant. Complex, lovely fruit: berries I feel. There is a wonderful floral character to it. It is really pretty ripe, but what you have to love about this nose is that it is incredibly fresh; all of those heady aromas and yet it is totally lively. This nose is ultra-pure essence of Morey. I love Morey. The palate is also really fresh, with wonderful fruit and a sophisticated tannic structure. Yes, I do love Morey. Morey also loves me, our relationship is very healthy. What a finish! Really alive and very long. This is really open and giving, a treat.

Many thanks to Mark Locke for dinner, we enjoyed it greatly.

This wine is from Roman Niewodniczanski*, the Saar’s arch-master of these weirdy almost-dry German Rieslings. His wines really impressed me when I first tried them, but I’ve had one or two since which have been a bit too weird. This seems nice enough, but rather forward.

Riesling ‘Goldberg’ 2007, Van Volxem
Quite a dark yellow colour, not the limpid green I’d normally expect from young Riesling. It has a powerful nose: baked apples, citrus and petrol. The nose really does seem quite forward. It is very attractive, don’t get me wrong, but just more mature than I’d expect. There is some nice slate minerality to it. The palate also seems rather forward, with the fruit moving more toward petrol than fresh limes. Real minerality and super acidity keep this zippy. This is pretty much dry, but with just a shade of residual sugar to balance the acidity. The harmony is pleasing. Good, long finish. This seems really quite enjoyable, but as it is already so forward I wonder how it will age.

*This is the most difficult word I know how to spell.

Later today I am off to the Fat Duck for a meal to celebrate the partner’s birthday. “Hooray!”, you might be thinking. I was thinking it too until I had a look at their wine list on their website. Their wine pricing policy is totally scandalous.

It seems they just multiply the retail cost of a wine by three and a half to come up with a frighteningly inflated price for every wine. Why do restaurants do this? It doesn’t cost them proportionately more to serve you a more expensive bottle, so why should they be proportionately more expensive?

I hate sommeliers who do this. It is totally un-necessary and puts people off drinking the things they would like to drink. Sure, a three-star may not be trying to attract nut-case wine-writers with no cash, but that doesn’t automatically mean good wine should be priced so only the obscenely rich can afford it.

This pisses me off so much I am tempted to take the sommelier to task. I can be highly articulate when I am angry.

I’ve been wanting to try this wine for a while, so lunch with my friends seemed like a good time to pop one. The more I think back about this wine the more I worry about the dosage. At the time I thought it worked so maybe I should not be concerned.

Champagne Coeur de Cuvee 1996, Vilmart
Really quite impressively oaky on the nose. It is very biscuitty too. There are properly complex aromas here. Now this is a tasty palate, super fruit and just great complexity. Is the dosage a tad high? No, it works well with the fruit and oak. And oak there is on the finish, I can almost feel the need to pluck splinters out. It is really long. Superb. Excellent. Wonderful.

The lovely Audrey hosted us for this tasting. As ever, these were incredible wines.

Chambolle-Musigny 2008
Really sexy and seductive nose. Really silky palate. It is quite delicious even though it is a bit reduced.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Fuees 2008
Seriously beautiful nose. Love that fruit. Love that style, too. Super elegant. Yeah!

Bonnes-Mares 2008
Really, really classy and stylish on the nose. Wehay! The palate is utterly, utterly beautiful. Totally charming. Oh, oh yes!

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Amoureuses 2008
Now this is really lovely. The nose… ah… the nose. I’m in love. The perfumed, silky character to the palate is utterly delicious. Great elegance. Hehehehehehehehehehe!

Musigny Grand Cru 2008
Malo not yet finished but it is still extravagantly fruity. The finish is incredible, wonderfully long. This us utterly ravishing and totally compelling.

Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Clos de la Marechale 2008
This is Nuits de chez Chambolle on the nose. The palate has really voluptuous fruit. It is really attractive, but still Nuits. The tannins are the clue here. The fruit is quite lovely, though.

Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Clos de la Marechale Blanc 2007
Toffee apple nose. Nice acidity and fruit on the palate. Pretty mineral, too. Yeah, good.

Chambolle-Musigny 2007
Properly attractive nose. Highly attractive palate, too. This is forward and fun, for drinking over the next few years.

Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Clos de la Marechale 2007
The fruit is really intense on the nose. A good mineral tang, too. Nuits tannins on the palate, but the fruit is just lovely. Nuits doesn’t get that much better.

Musigny Grand Cru 2007
An explosively exotic nose of fresh, complex fruit. There are few words to describe how wonderful this is, but I’ll try abso-tmesis-lutely freaking quadruple-A. The complexity! The class! The style! Wow!

Poor old Christophe had bust his foot whilst on his bike, so was hobbling around on crutches. I say ‘hobbling’, but he seemed to be moving around faster than me.

This was an amazing selection of wines; the 2008s are studded with a sparkling intensity which will charge these wines with pleasure throughout their lives. I did taste obscenely well on this trip.

Chambolle-Musigny 2008
Lovely, lovely fruit on the nose, and that fruit continues on the palate. Quite lovely. Yum.

Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru Clos de la Bussiere 2008
Bit reduced but again the fruit seems very nice. Its got that Morey fruit/tannin tension. Good acidity and good concentration too.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Cras 2008
Expressive nose of beautiful fruit. The palate has real elegance and refinement with lovely fruit and great balance. Love that finish, man.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Amoureuses 2008
The nose is a bit quaquaversal, but the palate has super elegance and is really silky. Great length and purity. Oh yeah, this will be special. Special in a good way.

Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2008
There is a hint of liquorice on the nose, which I rather like. Lots of cherry and generally ripe red fruit there. All the power of a Grand Cru but fresh and delicate. Super lovely.

Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru 2008
It is a bit subdued on the nose, but you can tell its profound beauty. Super attractive triple plus. Indeed, the palate is so beautiful and harmonious I feel somewhat lost for words. I’m grinning a lot.

Chambolle-Musigny 2007
Really quite ripe. Incredible fruit. I defy you to find even two more delicious village wines.

Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru les Amoureuses 2007
Ripe again but as sculpted and beautiful as a Sarah-Jane Selwood reconstruction. Silky and smooth tannins, but with bright, fresh acidity. This is sex-tastic.

Cabernet Sauvignon 1999, Moss Wood
A dirty blackcurrant nose. This is odd, if it wasn’t for the super-ripeness I’d think this was a really earthy Claret. But, let us be honest, it is more fun than that. I think the oak treatment is pretty classy. And, yeah, it is boozy. The palate is quite silky with super ripe tannins. It is quite long. This is actually good Cabernet, it is ripe and soft. If I am honest, I am not sure ageing this has done much for it. Sure, it is nice, but it was nice when I purchased it.

Chateauneuf du Papes 1998, Chateau de Beaucastel
Meaty, herbal and gamey one the nose. Powerful and scented. Really properly powerful, and yet it charms. It is really lovely, I am both impressed and pleased.

Volnay Premier Cru Santenots-du-Millieu 1999, Lafon
Rich, heady fruit on the nose. Wow, this is incredibly powerful Volnay. There is a lot of peppery, spiciness there. This is lovely, in a butch sort of style, I feel I could hide behind this in a bar-room fight and get away un-scathed. But, it is a top wine without a doubt.

That lovely fellow Cyprien Arlaud continues to improve every year with his winemaking; we like it when good stuff is made by lovely people. What is always fun here is tasting a range of Morey Premier Crus which display the real differences in terrior across the village. Of course, we like the Grand Crus as well! These are fascinating, properly beautiful and charming Burgundies. Buy some, I tell you, buy!

Some of these cask samples were reduced and needed racking, so I hope you will forgive me if my notes about them are brief. I like to think I am pretty good at tasting cask samples, but so often the wines can be unforthcoming. Don’t get me wrong, this was a great tasting and we all loved his wines. I’ve got an 07 Premier Cru in the wine cupboard to drink sometime. It’ll be soon. You cannot go wrong with Cyprien’s wines.

Chambolle-Musigny 2008
Lovely fruit, quite charming, nice elegance.

Morey-Saint-Denis 2008
Good Morey fruit on the nose. Good tannins. Properly charming. This is a very pleasurable villages.

Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru Millands 2008
Proper complexity. Love the fruit, it compels. A beautiful palate which is really Morey.

Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru aux Chezeaux 2008
Bit reduced, but there is a lot of concentration here and the fruit/acid balance seems good.

Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru aux Combottes 2008
Refined complexity on the nose, good, beautiful fruit is there. Some white pepper, maybe? Good concentration. Top bunny. This is a great Premier Cru (it is sandwiched between two Grand Crus) and Cyprien makes a type example.

Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru les Ruchots 2008
Super Morey action here. Wow does this have a real sense of place. Fruit++. Great elegance and refinement. I really like this. Not many Morey Premier Crus are better than this.

Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2008
Profound nose, but again it is a bit reduced. You can smell the concentration of fruit aromas. When this emerges it will be extra good.

Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2008
Charming beauty. A really svelte and totally lovely texture, the palate just wants you to have a good time. This is even better than the Clos de la Roche. Yeah, baby!

Clos Saint Denis Grand Cru 2008
Ah ha ha ha! This is perfumed and totally attractive. More of those lovely, beautifully sculpted, but big, tits. Wow, this is complex. Soft, concentrated and super lovely. I’m smitten.

Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru 2008
A bit oaky (ah I am told this is from a new barrel), but you’ve got to love its commanding presence in your glass, nose and mind. The fruit is piercingly vibrant. Totally lovely, but I prefer the Clos Saint Denis.

Hautes Cotes de Nuits Blanc ‘Chardonnay’ 2008
Primary fruit: bananas. Good freshness. Nice enough.

I’ll take a brief hiatus from the tasting notes to report on a brilliant little shop that has opened in Morey. Some of the producers have banded together and are selling their wines at the Caveau des Vignerons on the church square in Morey. They have most of the producers you’d hope for (but no Dujac as yet but we are told they are keen to support the shop) and the wines are sold at cellar-door prices. If you just want to pick up the odd bottle of Lambrays or Arlaud this is the place to stop. It is probably one of the very few places where Ponsot wines are affordable.

I picked up some Morey from producers I don’t know so well: Jean-Louis et Didier Amiot, Magnien and Lignier-Michelot (whose labels I love, see the one below).

They may not be Dujac, but they are another good producer in Morey. They have had a run of very satisfying vintages and are really worth scoring a few bottles should you see them on sale. The wines are very Morey in style and we all love Morey wines. Even though these wines were quite different from each other there certainly seemed to be a common thread of Clos des Lambrays character running through them.

Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru 2008
This was a cask sample. A bit reduced. Great fruit, though. Lovely, concentrated fruit on the palate. Very attractive.

Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru 2007
Lush, perfumed nose that explodes with fruit. A good earthy streak too. Super lovely. The palate has a wonderful texture and the finish is just incredible. Top drawer.

Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru 2006
Dark fruit and richly earthy on the nose. This smells seriously fine. Lovely fruit on the palate with great refinement. It is concentrated as well, which some real density. I love its finesse most of all.

Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru 2005
Super, ripe, rich fruit on the nose. There is liquorice there, too. Power is certainly present. The texture is super sexy and svelte, so attractive. Yeah, oh yeah, you’ve got to love this. I do.

As well as this wine we had a Groffier Amoureuses 1999 on our trip which was similarly crap. I expect far more from these vineyards from a producer who is generally well thought of.

Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru 2000, Robert Groffier
This is quite medicinal. Ripe certainly, but not remotely attractive. Where is the pleasure in this nose? I am neither charmed nor impressed. The palate has a lot of nice fruit, but it just dies. No complexity either. This is distinctly third-rate Bonnes-Mares, give me Dujac, Roumier or Mugnier any day. Sure, this is a quite fruity bottle of Burgundy, but there is no Bonnes-Mares in this.

As we tasted these wines my grin just got wider and wider. Jeremy and the team are very pleased with their 2007s and 2008s and they have every right to be, they are serious kit. Some of these are quite mind-bogglingly good and if you are a lover of fine things you should be going out of your way to score some. This is Bourgogne de chez Bourgogne.

Morey-Saint-Denis Blanc 2007
Very fresh and fruity with a nice roundness to it. Not only pretty but a good drink too.

Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru Monts Luissants Blanc 2007
Richer with a pure, refined lemon fruit. The oak treatment is very sophisticated. I really like it.

Morey-Saint-Denis 2007
Super fruity and fun. Bursting with life. It really charms for a village wine with super fruit and integrated acidity. Lovely.

Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru 2007
Great, complex, ripe fruit on the nose. Really Morey. I love the tannic structure on the palate. Really quite lovely.

Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru aux Combottes 2007
Deep fruit of a dark, seductive nature. Really refined on the palate, silky and super lovely. This will charm for year after year.

Vosne-Romanee Premier Cru Beauxmonts 2007
Exotic and complex. The fruit is incredibly stylish. Let us be honest, the nose is ravishingly beautiful. The palate oozes finesse and the tannic structure is super svelte. Top stuff, to be enjoyed with much chortling.

Vosne-Romanee Premier Cru Malconsorts 2007
Wow, an explosive, exciting array of aromas on the nose. Just great. Great. The palate is really svelte and smooth, with wonderful, soft, ripe tannins and such length. Freaking triple A.

Echezeaux Grand Cru 2007
Again, the nose is out where the big dogs eat! Amazingly stylish and quite exotic. Spicy and exotic on the palate. OK, I really, really love this, but the Malconsorts is a shade better.

Clos Saint Denis Grand Cru 2007
Oh, I love Clos Saint Denis. Scented, soft, sensual nose. This tweaks my nipples (in a nice way, obviously). A soft and beautiful palate. The tannins are lovely. This is Clos Saint Denis++, Dujac++ and freaking quadruple A.

Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2007
Deep and compelling on the nose. Smelling this is a heady, hedonistic experience. Tastes lovely! The CSD might be a personal favourite wine, but I see lovely, compelling beauty in this wine. As I type this up I can still remember how it tasted and I am chortling and rubbing my belly with mirth.

Clos Saint Denis Grand Cru 2001
Lovely, scented character to the nose. The palate is really soft, fruity and charming. Stylish structure. I like this super much.

Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2001
Wow, a powerful, profound but totally beautiful nose. This smells super, super top hole. A really classy, sex-tastic palate. This is a great 2001. I loved these 2001s when I first tried them from cask and they have certainly delivered on that initial promise.

The following wines were all cask samples so not all were easy to taste. Some were amazing, though.

Morey-Saint-Denis 2008
Not showing at its best but seems nice with good concentration.

Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru Combottes 2008
Still a bit alive with malo bacteria, quite reduced too. Very quaquaversal. The fruit seemed very nice to me, though.

Vosne-Romanee Premier Cru Malconsorts 2008
Lovely, lovely fruit. Super concentrated. This wine will blow your socks off once it is ready.

Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2008
This is clearly at an awkward stage. The concentration of fruit and earthiness seem good signs, though.

Chambertin Grand Cru 2008
The fruit seems very perfumed and very Gevrey. Again this is at an awkward stage but I was really impressed with its texture.

Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru 2008
Super exotic. Super complex. Wow! Shit-freaking-hot, man. Big, bouncing tits and permissions to mash them. This will be a stratospherically good wine.

I’ve raved about Inflorescence from this producer, this is an even grander wine. Once again is is a single vineyard wine, fermented to a low pressure, etc.

Champagne les Ursules Blanc de Noirs Roses de Jeanne, Cedric Bouchard
An earthy, rich, bready nose which is totally refined and lovely. The fruit is brilliant, as is the minerality. Yum! The palate is incredible: powerful, dense, stylish and super-classy. This is knockers wine triple plus.

I popped this to lubricate the cooking of some Thai food for my Burgundian chums. It was really good, but the name of it is a bit of a mouthful.

Riesling Grand Cru Schlossberg Cuvee Saint Catherine l’Inedit 1998, Domaine Weinbach
A ripe, concentrated baked-apple nose. Very mineral, very deep, rather attractive. This is serious, complex Riesling. The palate has weight and concentration, but fine, fizzing acidity as well. The balance is just wonderful. Bugger me, this is mineral. Wow, great stuff that is really up for drinking now.

My chum Jeremy and I had a little chat about these kind of super-titted-out Alsace Rieslings and we agreed that we probably won’t have to keep those we have for as long as we originally thought. Our feeling is that some we have tried have been ageing surprisingly quickly. This bottle was drinking as well as it ever would, and keeping it longer would just be a risk.

Jean Boxler makes totally brilliant wines which, I am afraid, moved me to incoherence on the last few. I really, really enjoyed this tasting. His wines are clearly my favourite in Alsace.

Pinot Blanc ‘B’ 2007
This is Pinot Blanc grown on the Brand Grand Cru. Really mineral and creamy. There is some honey too. Great fruit on the palate with a hint of astringency. Tasty! This is probably the best Pinot Blanc one can buy and this vintage of it is really super.

Riesling 2007
Nice and fruity with pronounced minerality. The palate is very juicy and tasty. Yum. Even better than the Sorg generic Riesling for only a shade extra cash.

Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg ‘JV’ 2007
Young vines cuvee. Very mineral. Very fruity, too. Strawberries, I think, which is a bit odd on a white wine. The acidity is strong and a bt raw, but there is style here.

Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg 2007
Riper and round. Buxom, and I like buxom. The palate is classy, stylish and really mouth-watering. The balance is quite superb. This is damned good.

Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg ‘E’ 2007
Oh yes!*

Riesling Grand Cru Brand 2007
Peachy, rich nose of ripe fruit. The fruit has a highly-attractive cherry character. The weight and ripeness are totally in harmony with great acidity. This is a really good, if slightly buxom, Riesling.

Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg ‘D’ 2007
An amazing nose of ripe fruit that is incredibly concentrated and amazingly mineral. This utterly compels me. The palate? Well… erm… Tits? Big, round tits.

Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg ‘D’ 2002
Quite petrolly, but the ripe citrus fruit still shines out. Lovely nose, alright. This is super fun action with great minerality. This is still tits.

Pinot Gris 2007
There is a lot to like about this wine: the fruit, concentration and minerality are all superb. The thing you’ve really got to love, though, is the acidity; this keeps it lively and balanced. Yeah.

Gewurztraminer 2007
Liquorice and banana on the nose. A bit confected, though. OK, but far from a cigar.

Pinot Gris Grand Cru Sommerberg 2007
This is a bit sweet. However, the interplay between minerality, acid and fruit give it a really interesting texture. This is quite, quite delicious.

Pinot Gris Grand Cru Brand 2007
This has the great Brand Pinot ripeness and fruit. The expressive minerality is totally beguiling. Yeah, this is what fun is all about.

Pinot Gris Grand Cru Sommerberg Vendanges Tardives 2006
A voluptuous and heady nose of fruit and compelling deliciousness. After I tasted this I was dumb-struck for a period of time. Arse-bitingly good. Love the acid-trip, man.

Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg ‘D’ Vendanges Tardives 2005
A spell-binding, racy experience of stellar intensity. This is amazing.

Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Brand Vendanges Tardives 2007
Very rose petal. Extremely concentrated. I never thought I’d write this about a Gewurtztraminer, but I’m lost and in love. It’s got everything. This is a sex-bomb, alright.

*Sorry, that really is all I wrote. This is an older vines cuvee which has stunning purity of expression and incredible definition to the palate. The finish was long and bursting with life. 2007 is a really top vintage for this wine, it’ll have a long, pleasure-delivering life.

This was the first tasting on our lark-fest in France. Some really good wines and when you are buying direct it is super-keenly priced kit. The 2007 Grand Cru Muscat was probably the best dry(-ish) Muscat I’ve had.

Pinot Blanc 2008
Very fresh apple fruit nose. Nice acid and creaminess on the palate. This is a great drink for the price and quite fun too.

Riesling 2007
Lovely orange rind fruit. Very fresh and charming. Good acid on the palate and it is really dry. This is a top generic Riesling.

Riesling Grand Cru Florimont 2005
Lovely nose of fruit and flowers: gooseberries and elderflower, we decided. This has a great mineral tang to it. Lovely fruit and acidity make this a really mouth-watering drink. Proper wine already.

Riesling Grand Cru Pfersigberg 2004
Really peachy fruit on the nose. Super-top minerality. This smells like a grown-up glass of Riesling. The palate has a very good, precise minerality to it which I just love.

Muscat 2007
Mint leaf and grape nose. Light and refined. However, the palate is too light with no body. Not that hot.

Muscat Grand Cru Pfersigberg 2007
More of the mint leaf greenness on the nose, but also really floral. The palate has just enough sugar to give it weight and balance it out, but it is basically pretty dry. Really great finish. Clearly one of the best Alsace Muscats I’ve had.

Pinot Gris Vieilles Vignes 2007
Peachy, fleshy nose. Nice and deep. The palate has a real concentration of fruit. Whilst this oozes charm it is just a bit short if you ask me.

Pinot Gris Grand Cru Pfersigberg 2007
Stunningly intense minerality on the nose. Great fruit, too. That’s what I like: lovely, lovely fruit, great minerality, hugely long finish. Yeah, that is what I like!

Gewurztraminer Vieilles Vignes 2007
The nose has some foam banana finesse. A perfumey, lychee aroma as well. The palate has weight, and a touch of astringency which is quite nice. Good.

Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Pfersigberg 2007
Orange tea on the nose and that odd aroma we call ‘spice box’ is there as well. The palate is quite light and elegant with a good vineyardy character, but it seems a bit unforthcoming, is it a bit closed? Hmmm…

Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Eichberg 2007
A strong liquorice nose. It is very earthy, too. The palate is super, super charming with bags of elegance and super-refined fruit. This is a really top Gewurztraminer.

Gewurztraminer Selection des Grains Nobles 2001
This is super concentrated essence of Gewurztraminer. Lychees and bacon fat are here in abundance. Lots of botrytis. What a nose! It is brilliant! The palate is wonderfully rich and extra, super balanced. A really good SGN.

I’m just back from France with a bag full of wine and a book full of notes. The notes will be written up and posted over the next few days, so do check back.

I may as well share some thoughts with you. 2008 in Burgundy looks like a vintage with a lot of promise Some of the wines were a little difficult to taste thanks to their stage of evolution, but I feel pretty confident that most will turn out extremely well. The wines showed good concentration, acidity and fruit, with the harmony to be properly noble.

2007 is a wonderfully charming and delicious vintage for Burgundy. Plenty of serious wines made, but most seem to be for the medium term of pleasure provision rather than things to hide in the cellar for ages.

Just down the road in Alsace 2007 seems like a totally top vintage across the board. Pretty much everything we tried seemed delicious and some have good cellaring potential.

Restaurant l’Arnsbourg is still an amazing place to eat.