TN: 2016 Albert Boxler Riesling Sommerberg (France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru)

WINE TALK
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  • 2016 Albert Boxler Riesling Sommerberg - France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru (7/12/2020)
    Slightly more orange fruit, a bit more tannins, feels like a lusher Riesling. Marmelade/limeade mix. It’s edging towards a very restrained Chardonnay in flavor profile in that it shares that slightly medicinal/chopped plastic finish. Good acid, but not as focused as the Schäfer-Frölich GG from a few nights ago. But a great wine, make no mistake. Being an Alsatian Riesling, I was looking forward to some bone dry austerity, but that was not what came. This is sweeter than the Schäfer-Frölich GG Trocken. (91 pts.)

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Posted from CellarTracker

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Why were you expecting bone dry austerity from an Alsatian Riesling? That simply doesn’t make sense.

There are still a handful of producers making old-school Rieslings that are bone dry, but since Alsace is so sunny and relatively warm, you really couldn’t call them austere. Especially Grand Cru Rieslings tend to be from the opulent end of the spectrum, even when fully dry.

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Because I’ve been recommended that Alsatian producers tend to be drier than the German ones. Having drunk one or two Trimbach’s (and something else that I forget now), it seemed to generally be the case. But admittedly, a small sampling base for a conclusion.

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Trimbach is one of those few very old-school producers that aim for complete dryness, especially with their Rieslings. A great producer and while they must’ve been very representative for the local style 100 years ago, it is less so now.

And while Alsace wines are often technically drier than many German ones, you really can’t extrapolate that they’d be more austere as well. Generally Alsatian and Austrian style of Riesling leans much more on weight and ripeness of fruit than most of the German styles.

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I’m not an expert but this is what I’ve heard as well and it makes sense when you think about the climatic and geographical differences, especially in regards to the sunny slopes of the Wachau in Austria.

Just to add a fun fact: when Grosset is asked from Devi Dalton which European Rieslings he things as being closer to his he quotes Alsace and Austria over Germany.

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So far, not had a single German Riesling I would classify as bone dry. But the quest continues. [cheers.gif]

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That’s going to be quite hard if even GGs are not dry enough for you. Good luck though! [cheers.gif]

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Austria is the better bet for really dry, but again with the extract and alcohol you might interpret them as sweeter than you prefer.

Adam - have you read Riesling Rediscovered? If not, you should. It’s about dry Riesling in the northern hemisphere.

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Thanks David - I’ve put it on my Amazon order now!

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I doubt that any Riesling in the whole Europe is bone dry in Adam’s books. I remember him complaining how sweet some German Riesling was. According to analyses it was clocking at something like 3 g/l.

So if wines like those are not dry, I don’t know what are.

It would be fun to know how much RS there was in the Boxler wine.

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And while many Austrian Rieslings are technically bone dry, many of them appear sweeter than most German Trocken Rieslings to me, due their more pronounced ripeness and concentration of fruit.

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This is a very good point: you need not only almost absent residual sugar but also a vineyard/vintage that is more about minerality than fruit. By the way, the Grosset Polish 2018 that Adam tasted has 0.9 g/L.

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I thought that I had found the info on Boxler’s residual sugar but I was wrong and I had to delete the post with the wrong info (google slid a different wine in the search even though I had put the correct one in). However, I did find an interesting article on Decanter on different sugar levels in Alsatian Rieslings, “Sugar wars in Alsace”.

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Boxler has gotten much sweeter since the turn of the millennium.

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I am beginning to think maybe Riesling is not for you.

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Article was interesting. Unfortunately the Josmeyer can’t be had in the US, from what I can glean. Sounds like it would be right up my Straße.

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Why? Even though many Josmeyer wines are technically dry, they are often so ripe and concentrated they certainly don’t taste dry. Nevertheless, they can make some of the greatest Alsatian Rieslings I know, such as these two:

Intense and concentrated yet also surprisingly youthful lime-green color. Very fruity and quite concentrated nose with bold aromas of peach, some greengage, a little bit of perfumed floral character, light red apple tones, a hint of honeyed richness and a touch of pear jam. The wine is full-bodied, intense and concentrated on the palate with focused flavors of steely minerality, some ripe peach, a little bit of honey and beeswax, light lemony citrus tones, a hint of floral apple blossom and a touch of greengage. The high acidity lends great sense of structure and precision to the wine. The finish is rich, concentrated and quite acid-driven with powerful, complex flavors of ripe lemony citrus fruits, some honeyed richness, a little bit of apple peel bitterness, light white peach tones and a hint of beeswax.

An exceptional GC Riesling with power and concentration that is typical of the style, but outstanding structure and focus to keep the big size of the wine well in check. The wine shows some developed waxiness and richness, but otherwise it is still remarkably youthful in style and most likely the wine will continue to develop for years more. Outstanding and highly recommended. (94 pts.)

Rich and deep golden yellow color. Very juicy, somewhat developed and slightly sweet-toned nose with exceedingly complex aromas of acacia honey, very ripe peach, some dried apricots, a little bit of pineapple, a hint of apple jam and a touch of petrol. By the nose, I’d say this is a dessert wine rather than a dry white. The wine is moderately full-bodied, yet remarkably weightless and delicate on the palate with complex, off-dry flavors of honey, ripe peach, some perfumed floral tones, a little bit of fruit salad syrup, light stony mineral bitterness and a hint of exotic spice. The mouthfeel is broad and somewhat oily and the wine is moderately high in acidity, which is perfectly enough to keep it perfectly balanced. The finish is rich, juicy and suggestive of sweetness with layered flavors of peachy fruit, some spicy wildhoney, a little bit of dried apricots, a hint of bruised apple and a touch of stony mineral bitterness.

A spectacular and wonderfully hedonistic Grand Cru Riesling that shows incredible depth and complexity, but despite its slightly off-dry nature, the wine comes across as remarkably delicate and weightless. Truly a graceful wine. Very highly recommended. (96 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

And it was weird finding such a rookie mistake like “2 g/l RS = 2%” in the article. That’s just one order of magnitude off.

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Adam, Usually on the back label there will be an alphanumeric code. Either “D” “E” “JV” there are others but I don’t remember them, it’s been a long time. If memory serves “D” is old vines, “E” is not a V.T. but in that direction and “JV” is young vines. With Alsatian wines it is almost impossible to know the sweetness by looking at the label unless you are very familiar with the growers style and in particular the vintage. About the only exception to this is Z-H, who uses an indice level indicator. 1 being the driest, 3 has perceptible sweetness, 5 being the sweetest of non V.T., S.G.N. wines. Cheers.

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From alsace-wine.net:


1 is Grand Cru Sommerberg
B and 2 are Grand Cru Brand
D is Duttenstein, a part of Grand Cru Sommerberg
E is Eckberg, a part of Grand Cru Sommerberg
JV betyder (sic) Jeunes vignes, young vines
K is Kirchberg, a part of Grand Cru Brand

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The Boxler Riesling wines (like many producers’ Rieslings in Alsace) vary from vintage to vintage in terms of sugar. So you very much need to know the details of the vintage in question to know what you’re getting into.
If you want pretty much bone dry Alsatian riesling, try Kientzler. Their '16s are outstanding.
Disclaimer: I import their wines.
(In fact, I just checked their analytics, and they are between 3-5 g/L RS, so likely not your bone bone dry that you are looking for…).
IMHO, I think bone dry Riesling wines are most often unbalanced…
Richard Groesche, who managed Von Buhl for a while made a kitchy label called Bone Dry, with a skull for a label. It is less than 1 g/L RS…