TN: 1985 Muscat - Alsace Grand Cru Kirchberg - Kientzler

Invited for dinner by a very generous friend, several very nice bottles were opened but this particular one really hit me.

1985 - Muscat - Alsace Grand Cru Kirchberg - Domaine Kientzler
The first surprise is the cork which cannot be caught and slips into the bottle. Whoops, we thought it’s not a good start.
But pouring the wine from the now opened bottle into the glass, we see a very light straw colour which does not indicate any age whatsoever. And when my nose goes over the glass, a rocket of freshly cut aromatic herbs with hints of taragon, sage, mint and flowers explodes in my face. Wow. The palate is closed at the beginning but gradually, over 2 hours, becomes more complex and refreshing. The mineral spine of the wine carries it very nicely through to the amazingly long, clean, dry and zesty finish. Wow.
A miracle pairing with the white asparagus, jambon persille and mayonnaise.
Wow.

A 27 years old dry muscat… I could not believe would show so much of everything. Sure, the fruit is gone but that’s the last thing I was looking for anyway…

Did I mention “Wow”?

Merci Christophe! I’ll have to try to match this next time. Won’t be easy.

Cheers
Michael

how interesting! It’s always fun to experience, or even just read about, such oddities, whether they’re odd because of what they are or how old they are (as long as they’re still good, of course).

Is this Kirchberg de barr or de ribeauville ?

The label did not say but as it’s Kientzler, it must be Ribeauville.

Makes sense, thanks. So it is this one: Weinlagen

A 27 years old dry muscat… I could not believe would show so much of everything. Sure, the fruit is gone but that’s the last thing I was looking for anyway…

Just curious…if the fruit’s gone…and you weren’t looking for it anyway…what is there holding the wine together, ie, is it like a sherry? an eau de vie? or…a liquer…I’m a little confused. Seriously.

I like these dry muscats from alsace, but…not for long aging.

Charlie, yes it’s this place.

Stuart, it’s really more vegetal and mineral than fruity. It does, somehow, have a fruity aspect, but not at all like the clear “grape” feeling you get in the young versions. I was not expecting the fruit to explode in such an old wine. I was very surprised by this wine because indeed, like you, I’ve always consumed my dry muscat in their 5 first years…