Albert Boxler, Pinot Gris, Vendanges Tardives, Alsace, France, 2020

The Vendanges Tardives designation refers to unique sweet wines made from grapes picked when over-ripe. This classification is added to Alsace or Alsace Grand Crus appellations. Alsace's climate has very little rain and lots of sunshine during the autumn, making the conditions favorable for extended ripening of grapes. Vendanges Tardives must have a high sugar content and can only be sold after ageing for 18 months.  Only made in exceptional Vintages.

Overview of the Wine
The small family domaine in France that works traditionally using techniques and savoir faire passed down across multiple generations is under serious threat today. Consolidation, technology, regulation, foreign investment, globalization, and many other factors (all in the name of progress), threaten the great agricultural tradition of winegrowing in France, arguably the world’s greatest winegrowing culture. Few domaines in France embody this way of life more ably and proudly than Domaine Albert Boxler in Niedermorschwihr. Jean Boxler, many generations removed from his ancestor of the same name that moved here from Switzerland in 1673, currently rules the roost at this humble yet incredibly exciting domaine. Intense and serious about his land, his craft, and his wine, Jean is the genius behind what are certainly some of the finest white wines in Alsace (and the world).

The family’s holdings are centered around the ancient village of Niedermorschwihr in the Haut-Rhin, dominated by the imposing granite hillside grand cru, Sommerberg. Jean vinifies micro-parcels within this cru separately, de-classifying some into his Réserve wines and producing multiple bottlings of Sommerberg from the different lieux-dits depending on the vintage. Sommerberg gives racy, intensely structured, very long-lived wines. Riesling, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Blanc are the specialties of the domaine, Jean also produces one of Alsace’s best Crémants (and Edelzwickers), an incredible Gewurztraminer grown in limestone, and some of the most hauntingly pure Vendanges Tardives and SGNs in all of Alsace. If that weren’t enough, the Boxlers also own land in the powerful grand cru Brand, the ultimate counterpart to their holdings in Sommerberg.

The Sommerberg hillside terminates in Jean’s driveway, making it easy to basically live in the vineyards, ensuring exceptionally healthy fruit year after year. After harvest, the wines are vinified and aged in old foudres in a small cellar underneath the family home until bottling. Not much has changed over the centuries; not much has needed to. Tasting through the entire range of Boxler’s wines is ample proof of the fact that Alsace, along with Burgundy, is the source of the world’s most complex, exciting white wines, and will probably always be.

Organic.

Winemaker
Jean Boxler

Grape / Blend
Pinot Gris

Origin
Alsace, France

Tasting Notes
Jean Boxler's late harvest sweet wines have a cult following. They are only made in years, like 2020, that lend themselves to the style, and offer immense ageing potential. The residual sugar here gives the wine unctuous weight and power, while it remains floral and vibrant. Pinot Gris is staggeringly complex and profound in Jean Boxler's hands. This will be magnificent.

Product size: 500ml