Mission Codename All my flowers
If you’re into those off-the-wall whites with an almost imperceptible touch of sweetness, you’re in luck today.
Grand Cru, 95 points and a Gold, for $29?! Anywhere else in France, you would pay A LOT more. In bucolic Alsace, values like this still hide.
Took us FOREVER to uncover a Gewürztraminer deal this good. Why look so hard for a Gewürztraminer you may ask? Well, in the right hands and grown on a Grand Cru site, this aromatic varietal can transform into something profound.
Mandelberg is surrounded by equally famous Grand Crus like Sonnenglanz and Furstentum, Brand, Hengst, and Goldert are just due south. This terroir, dear Operatives, is ground zero for some of the best Gewürztraminer money can buy.
The nose alone here would turn Yves Saint Laurent or Chanel green with envy if it could be bottled as a fragrance. Pear, lychee, exotic blossoms, mango, passion fruit, and white pepper are some of the many intoxicatingly deep aromas and flavors that dizzy up the senses. The palate is impeccably balanced with vibrancy, and a panettone’s worth of fresh and dried fruits, all wrapped in a creamy, impossible-to-stop-sipping textural appeal. With a Pad Thai, for example, it’s bound to get you all emotional.
Exactly what you’d expect from a top-shelf Grand Cru Alsatian!
Ian d’Agata of Vinous says it’s all “about elegance and perfume rather than sheer opulence and power. Typical aromas and flavors include blood orange, white and yellow flowers, tropical fruits that are normally not ultra-ripe, and sweet spices… Gewürztraminer, from the right terroirs and in the rights hands, is capable of producing wines that age remarkably well. The fact that Gewürztraminer is a low-acid grape has given it a reputation for wines that are best drunk when young, but that is not true for many examples from Alsace. As it turns out, the wines of Alsace are among my favorites, and they are heavily represented in my personal cellar.”
Small batch, you’ve been warned.
95 Points, Gold – Decanter World Wine Awards
“A generous and balanced wine that really hits the spot! Classic elderflower and lychee flavours with further exotic fruit flavours. The wine finishes with a luscious, rounded feel.”
What the Winery Says
2019 Mandelberg Grand Cru Gewürztraminer
- Winemakers
- Jean-Noël & Frédéric Bousquet
- Varietals
- 100% Gewurztraminer
- Vintage
- 2019
- Alcohol
- 14.0%
- TA
- 3.54 g/L
- Residual Sugar
- 17.5 g/L
- Appellation
- Mandelburg Grand Cru, Alsace, France
- Soils
- Marl and limestone
- Aging
- Stainless Steel