Dirler-Cade's 2006 Gewurztraminer Kessler Vendange Tardive one of only four Gewurztraminer bottlings (two of them V.T.) that they rendered this vintage, the others of which I did not taste. Quince preserves, overripe musk melon, celery root, and sea-breeze mineral notes on the nose lead to a richly-textured palate with impingement of toasted nuts and brown spices as well as saline and alkaline hints offering some counterpoint to the soothing, caramel-tinged flow of ripe fruit. This shows admirable clarity, lift, and elegance, but the finish is rather dominated by sheer sweetness from its 72 grams of residual sugar. I would monitor it carefully if keeping any around, but could conceive of it becoming more interesting over the next 3-5 years.Jean-Pierre Dirler was another of those growers to express delight at the 2007 vintage with its wide window of harvest opportunities, but to have sold off or declassified much of his family's production in 2006. It bears repeating that this estate's international profile is not nearly as high as is the quality of wine that have issued from it routinely since at least the mid-1980s, when I first visited here. I did not, unfortunately, have chance to taste quite the entire 2007 Dirler-Cade collection, and canvassed only a small selection of their in any event diminished number of 2006s.Importer: Robert Chadderdon Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 757-8185