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Vinous Table: L’Auberge de l’Ill, Illhaeusern, France
France: Alsace, Vinous Table, France
, Jan 2019
It’s 150 years and counting at l’Auberge de l’Ill, one of the world’s best restaurants, and also a world-class spa and hotel. My latest visit shows l’Auberge de l’Ill hasn’t missed a step – an epicurean temple that continues to regale food and wine lovers from all over the world.
Vinous Table: JY’s, Colmar, France
France: Alsace, Vinous Table, France
, Nov 2018
JY’s is without a doubt one of Alsace’s three best restaurants, offering a combination of precise, complex dishes, a good wine list, professional service and a romantic, refined location along the river Lauch in Colmar’s pretty Little Venice district.
Albert Mann Gewurztraminer Furstentum: 1993-2015
France: Alsace, featured, Verticals & Retrospectives
, Oct 2018
Albert Mann is admired for wines of remarkable purity and precision. Arguably most famous for their Riesling Schlossberg and Pinot Noir bottlings, the estate’s Gewurztraminer Furstentum is just as outstanding, showcasing how well this variety can age in Alsace.
Alsace Continued: A New Generation Arises
France: Alsace, featured
, May 2018
In Alsace, a new generation of young winemakers is starting to take over the roles of their parents at a number of family domaines. The result is a bevy of fresh, exciting wines that are well worth exploring.
Alsace: The 2016s & Late-Released 2015s
France: Alsace, featured
, Apr 2018
The 2016 and 2015 vintages in Alsace are diametric opposites: fresh and crisp in 2016, richer and more opulent in 2015. Pinot varieties excelled in ‘16, while it was mostly Gewürztraminer that stole the show in ‘15.
Louis Sipp: Riesling Kirchberg de Ribeauvillé 1971 – 2014
France: Alsace, featured, Verticals & Retrospectives
, Oct 2017
Louis Sipp is located in the heart of Ribeauvillé, one of Alsace’s most famous and prettiest towns. Sipp has always been one of the best, if not the best producer, of Kirchberg de Ribeauvillé Riesling. A recent vertical back to 1971 provided a great opportunity to taste a number of wines from this famed Grand Cru site.
Vinous Table: Wistub du Sommelier, Alsace, France
France: Alsace, Vinous Table
, Aug 2017
Wistubs are equivalents of modern day bistros but that harken back to past times, offering home style food in rural, country settings. Wistub du Sommelier, one of the finest in Alsace and a favorite dining hangout of local vignerons and wine lovers, rarely disappoints.
Alsace: The 2015s and Late-Released 2014s
France: Alsace, featured
, Mar 2017
Although the 2014 and 2015 vintages posed distinct challenges for growers and winemakers alike, the former year produced some sleek, delicious, brisk whites (especially Rieslings) while the latter vintage yielded many rich, powerful examples, including some of the best Gewürztraminers in decades.
Weinbach Riesling Schlossberg Cuvée Ste. Catherine: 1990-2011
France: Alsace, featured, Verticals & Retrospectives
, Nov 2016
Domaine Weinbach is arguably one of the world’s greatest wine estates. Over the years, the Faller family has produced myriad fantastic wines that are sought by wine lovers and collectors everywhere. That consistent track record has shed light on Alsace’s many delicious, age-worthy and memorable white wines. Quality is so high across the board at Weinbach that it is hard to choose a single “best” wine as the subject of a vertical tasting.
Trimbach: Riesling Clos Ste. Hune 1966-2010
France: Alsace, featured, Verticals & Retrospectives
, Oct 2016
This remarkable vertical tasting of Trimbach’s flagship Riesling Clos Ste. Hune encompassed a number of reference-point, older vintages that are now virtually impossible to find along with the soon-to-be-released 2010. Clos Ste. Hune has a rare ability to transmit the essence of place and vintage while acquiring considerable complexity in bottle, all of which make make it one of the most distinctive wines in the world. I tasted these wines at a seminar hosted by Pierre Trimbach last year at the Villa d’Este Wine Symposium.