If you saw the Beck-Hartweg Pinot Gris Cuvee de l’Ours 2007 just sitting on the shelf, you would likely pay it no mind. To be honest, looking at the vintage, it wouldn’t be our first grab either. Too old? Tired? We would have been wrong. One of the sad things we have noticed is that folks don’t care about Alsace as much as they used to. We sold remarkable amounts back in the 90s, and the area achieved stature thanks to a significant run of great juice from the likes of Olivier Humbrecht and the ladies at Domaine Weinbach. But, sadly, Alsace as a subject doesn’t get much attention in the wine press any more. It is particularly unfortunate at a time when the varied Asian and Asian influenced cuisines are widely appreciated on the food scene as these wines pair superbly (….getting hungry).
In any case, Beck-Hartweg is a fine producer who farms organically. We have been working with this domaine for a while and the presentation that day included several ‘older’ bottles that all showed surprisingly well. Do Alsace wines typically age well? The good ones certainly can and this one did!
It will be a little difficult to paint the picture since very few folks have the opportunity to experience a wine like this, thus making for no point of reference. But we’re going to give it our best shot secure in the knowledge, if it doesn’t work, there are lot of good Thai and Vietnamese places around here where we could do some expanded research ourselves. We won’t mind but, really, this is one of those rare opportunities.
In spite of the date, we just bought this. The 2007 vintage was very good in Alsace (one of the best since the turn of the century). The nose is an inviting melange of well meshed floral, white stone fruit, and quince nuances. All of that comes through on the palate accented with some yellow stone fruit and a delicate touch of minerality. The texture was remarkable, almost fat and unctuous but with everything sitting atop perfectly proportioned gentle acidity that did its job without getting in the way. The richness on the palate gave the impression of sweetness but the wine wasn’t actually sweet.
All in all, this was a captivating, soulful, and even a little bit cerebral effort. Only something from Alsace could have been exactly like this, the bottle age, those unique terroirs and deceptive viscosity making for a one-of-a-kind wine experience. An exciting wine and proof that Alsace should still be a ‘thing’.