2008 Schlumberger Gewürztraminer Cuvee Christine Vendages Tardives

I have long believed that Schlumberger’s best wines are their Gewürztraminers Cuvee Christine (a VT) and Cuvee Anne (an SGN). And given how fat and opulent Gewürztraminer wines can be, I especially like how well balanced and refined the Cuvee Christine always seems to be. The Cuvee Christine is a cellar selection of the Vendages Tardives wines (Schlumberger also bottles a “regular” Vendages Tardives wine) and this 2008 is made from grapes picked on December 1, 2008. This offers plenty of dried apricots, quince, ripe citrus, smoke and pistachio on the nose and palate, with very good freshness and precision. At roughly 60 g/L residual sugar and 5 g/L total acidity this is quite sweet but lively, with lovely freshness and lift; no, it won't make me forget the wonderful 1976 Cuvee Christine, for example, but this 2008 is a lovely wine that I greatly enjoyed. By the way, the wine is named after Christine Schlumberger (1894-1971) who was at the helm of the Domaine for twenty years following the death of her husband Ernest. 94/Drinking window: 2015-2030.

--Ian D'Agata