Can't see the Folas for the tries

Josmeyer 2008 Gewurztraminer “Les Folastries” (Alsace) – Off-dry, with its minerality delivered in a waterfall of crystallization. Sweet lychee verging into peach, but with a clementine counterpoint, even a little mirabelle as it lingers. There’s power here without overt weight, and also without relying too heavily on the common crutch of sugar. Extremely nice. (2/11)

Not a hot rock

Josmeyer 2005 Riesling “Les Pierrets” (Alsace) – Bright. I don’t mean this in the usual sense, in which a preference towards acid and shinier fruit is suggested, but that there’s something that reminds me of actual luminescence in this wine. Everything one wants from an Alsatian riesling, dialed back a little bit for earlier approachability. Very nice. (11/10)

Samain Gamgee

Josmeyer 2000 Riesling Hengst “Samain” (Alsace) – Corked. (5/10)

Fromenteau loaf

Josmeyer 2001 Pinot Gris “Le Fromenteau” (Alsace) – Pristine and mineral-driven, fruited with crisp pear and ripe apple, and seasoned with just a bit of salt. (No, really…there’s a hint of salinity that I’ve never found in an Alsatian pinot gris, though it’s fairly common in certain coastal whites.) Neither fat nor aggressive. The finish is long, suggesting hints of the spice that will emerge with more age. While this is drinking well now, were I to own any I’d wait a while, because it’s still holding back, and because the crystalline minerality that’s slowly being revealed is a little more zirconium than diamond at the moment. (9/08)

Fondation & empire

Josmeyer 2001 “1854 Fondation” Pinot Gris “Vieilles Vignes” (Alsace) – Steel-jacketed pear. Teutonic in construction and attitude, with a lot of ferric minerality…especially as the wine drifts away on a steel breeze. If there’s a quibble, it’s the usual one in Alsace: more sugar than the wine really needs. The wine’s likely to firm with age, so in the future this might not be as much of a problem. (12/08)