White raisin, honey, caramel, grapefruit, apricot preserve and a distinct note of mushrooms rise from an almost coppery glass of Bott’s 2005 Pinot Gris Sonnenglanz Selection de Grains Nobles. While this is viscous and sweet, it displays a surprisingly and welcome citricty and exuberant juiciness that carry successfully into its long, multi-faceted finish. In addition to wondering how long it will take for a wine like this to digest some of its sheer sweetness, I would watch out for the possibility that overtly fungal elements – for now a fascinating part of the wine’s complexity – might later dominate in a less than noble way. Young Jean-Christophe Bott is passionate about quality and unafraid to make sacrifices on its behalf. He has adopted a biodynamic regimen in the vineyards and is now holding most of his wines 6-24 months in bottle before release. Clarity and cleanliness run through all of these, and it is encouraging to taste so many Riesling that are uncompromisingly dry (although occasionally bitterness or alcohol intrude). Bott feels capable of encouraging dryness and balance in various ways in the vineyard and the cellar without ever intervening in or attempting to re-start sluggish fermentations. By no means all of the wines I tasted displayed strong personalities, but many of them gave reason to believe – as does Bott’s articulate advocacy – that this will be one of the more talked-about Alsace domains of the coming decade. Given the challenges that so many of his fellow-growers recorded with this variety in 2004, his success in bringing Gewurztraminer to subtly-ennobled ripeness in that vintage – while taking advantage of higher than usual acidities – is especially noteworthy.Importer: Eric Solomon Selections, Charlotte, NC; tel. (704) 358-1565