Marcel Deiss Gewurztraminer Bergheim Selection de Grains Noble

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Yellow plum preserves, liqueur-preserved walnuts, and white raisin in the nose of Deiss's 2008 Gewurztraminer Selection De Grains Nobles lead to a viscous, oily palate of piquant nuttiness and bittersweet balance despite its enormously high residual sugar. This finishes with exceptional persistence, if not enormous lift of elegance. It should be worth following for three decades, which might well bring further complexity and more refinement. "I seek harmony in an S.G.N.," says Deiss, "not the exaggeration that is in the nature of a Quintessence or Trockenbeerenauslese; and to achieve this I don-t make a selection but harvest the complete crop of the vines from terroir that promotes botrytis. And Bergheim is the capital of botrytis in Alsace." Unsurprisingly given his overall philosophy, Deiss therefore sees S.G.N. "relying on terroir" as an inherently superior and more interesting category than Quintessence, which relies on human selectivity. Jean-Michel Deiss's chance-taking, late-harvesting attitude made for a 2009 collection at times excessive as measured by one or another parameter, but no one can fault its wines for the lack of personality that afflicts so many others from that vintage. Deiss was at pains to assure me that his single-vineyard 2009s would be more expressive and harmonious by autumn of 2011 although I am skeptical that the sort of awkwardness some of these wines exhibited last November will dissipate, and unfortunately, press of time and wine renders it impossible for me to taste many of the most prestigious Alsace wines twice. Deiss's belief that diverse cepages which grow together -"under the influence of the parcel's terroir and of one another" tend to ripen together, was certainly tested in both 2009 and 2008, but even someone skeptical of that claim "and we skeptics are surely in the majority - must admit that to the extent under- and over-ripe (or botrytis-inflected) aspects coexist in one and the same wine, this need not always manifest itself as disharmony but sometimes instead can generate welcome tension, a tension especially beneficial in the context of noticeable sweetness, and something like seems to have happened with the exciting 2008s at this address. Jean-Michel Deiss remarked -"apropos the preponderance of residually sweet wines at his estate (like so many in Alsace) " that with his vineyard and cellar environment, if he really wants a wine to go to dryness, he needs to work with it in barrique, otherwise he would need in most years to employ cultured yeasts, something he eschews " as he puts it - "on moral, not just aesthetic grounds, because I am not about to serve the industry that produces them."- That said, the healthy fruit and happy yeasts of 2009 as well as the high acidity of 2008 conspired to render more of the wines from these collections dry-tasting than is usual chez Deiss. Incidentally, Deiss has begun printing -premier cru- on the labels of those from among his single-vineyard blends that are not from officially grand cru-rated sites. Perhaps he feels emboldened to challenge the authorities not only because a certain amount of contrariness is in his nature, but because he has been deputized to take the lead in organizing growers around deciding what will define and constitute in Alsace the "A.O.P., I.G.P.," and other newly EU-mandated wine categories. Mathieu Deiss, incidentally, is taking on an increasing role at his family's estate, and was almost as eager to discuss the wines and vines on the occasion of my November visit as his notoriously eager and eloquent father. (For further information on Deiss's philosophy, his sites and their cepages, consult my reports in issues 175 and 188.)Importer: Vintus, Pleasantville, NY; tel. (914) 769-3000

The 2007 Gewurztraminer Selection De Grains Nobles Quintessence required more rigorous selection than that of 2006, says Deiss, in view of there having been less botrytis. He persists incidentally in describing the concentration of 2006 as “cool” and that of 2007 as “warm,” meaning this metaphorically rather than literally, whereas I generally think of it as the other way around, a perception reflected in many of my tasting notes. Here, however, I can appreciate the notion of “heat,” as this wine is intensely spicy from the nose on, with cinnamon stick and cinnamon candy, along with peach preserves and litchi. There is also the yin-yang of caramelized parsnip and black pepper spice. This finishes with amazing energy, penetration, and sheer persistence, but hasn’t – for now, anyway – the refinement, textural allure, complexity or remarkably buoyancy of the corresponding 2006. That said, one could expect to follow this formidable concentrate for at least 30 years I am sure, and things might look very different halfway along. Jean-Michel Deiss has been officially tasked with assisting his fellow Alsace growers in the drafting of new regional regulations and labeling conventions, in keeping with both France’s proposed move to a higher-order French appellation “d’Origine Protegee” and with the potential regional autonomy provided for (if inchoately) by recent EU legislation. As readers can imagine, Deiss’s vision involves a drastically diminished scope and roll for varietal bottling, analogous to his conception of Alsace crus as being best expressed by a blending of multiple cepages. (For more on the evolution of Deiss’s approach, consult my report in issue 175). Two things are indubitable: Alsace could use fresh approaches to labeling and marketing; and any Deiss proposal will have been thought-through all the way down to its historical and metaphysical levels. Deiss’s own line and labeling have been further simplified: beginning with 2006 his lower tier of wines is being bottled without village designations, leaving him more flexibility in blending. Although Deiss did not bottle a full compliment of his crus from the rot-challenged 2006 vintage, he said he was loath to pull back by settling his musts more aggressively of bottling earlier, “because the lees are the megaphone for the terroir.” Fair enough in principle, but the results were to say the least decidedly mixed, whereas Deiss’s 2007s represent a resounding success. (Deiss did not show me his lower-tier 2006s and I did not have chance to ferret any of them out from the marketplace.)Importer: Vintus, Pleasantville, NY; tel. (914) 769-3000

Reflecting a berry-by-berry selection, Deiss’s 2006 Gewurztraminer Selection De Grains Nobles Quintessence features quince preserves and honey mingled with rose petal, gardenia, resin, and brown spices on the nose and creamy, practically weightless palate, onto which caramel, nut paste, and butterscotch notes flow without disturbing a remarkable sense of clarity to nuances of floral perfume and spice. Here is another example of botrytis concentration entirely free of any dross or fungal fingerprints. The finish is like an aurora borealis of nuanced flavors, and you get so caught up in it that sweetness is the last thing you notice. It’s important for the character of a wine like this, explains Deiss, that there are tiny non-botrytis berries in the mix as well, even in a vintage like 2006 where he describes the condition of the fruit as “fatigued.” In this instance, they wore themselves out in a good cause! No doubt this will be enthralling to follow for 30-40 years. Jean-Michel Deiss has been officially tasked with assisting his fellow Alsace growers in the drafting of new regional regulations and labeling conventions, in keeping with both France’s proposed move to a higher-order French appellation “d’Origine Protegee” and with the potential regional autonomy provided for (if inchoately) by recent EU legislation. As readers can imagine, Deiss’s vision involves a drastically diminished scope and roll for varietal bottling, analogous to his conception of Alsace crus as being best expressed by a blending of multiple cepages. (For more on the evolution of Deiss’s approach, consult my report in issue 175). Two things are indubitable: Alsace could use fresh approaches to labeling and marketing; and any Deiss proposal will have been thought-through all the way down to its historical and metaphysical levels. Deiss’s own line and labeling have been further simplified: beginning with 2006 his lower tier of wines is being bottled without village designations, leaving him more flexibility in blending. Although Deiss did not bottle a full compliment of his crus from the rot-challenged 2006 vintage, he said he was loath to pull back by settling his musts more aggressively of bottling earlier, “because the lees are the megaphone for the terroir.” Fair enough in principle, but the results were to say the least decidedly mixed, whereas Deiss’s 2007s represent a resounding success. (Deiss did not show me his lower-tier 2006s and I did not have chance to ferret any of them out from the marketplace.)Importer: Vintus, Pleasantville, NY; tel. (914) 769-3000

Deiss produced two Selection de Grains Nobles Gewurztraminers in 1994. The 1994 Gewurztraminer Burg SGN possesses a whopping 100 grams of residual sugar. It is a rich, chewy, high acid, oily wine that should taste sweeter than it does, but the wine's powerful acids balance out the sweetness. This is actually a wine that could be drunk with foie gras at the beginning of a meal. It should last for 30+ years, becoming drier and drier as it ages. Marcel Deiss's Gewurztraminers are excellent, well-made wines, but it is obvious that Gewurztraminer is his least favorite varietal. For Deiss, Gewurztraminer is just too full-blown and ostentatious to get excited.Readers should realize that the 1994s are exceptionally young, relatively unevolved wines that are just beginning to hint at their potential.Robert Kacher: 2015 Vine Street NE, Washington, DC 20018; tel. (202) 832-9083, fax (202) 529-2579