Domaine Dirler-Cade Muscat Spiegel, Alsace Grand Cru, France

凱德酒莊明鏡麝香干白葡萄酒

點(diǎn)擊次數(shù)：5185

From a parcel of Ottonel with perhaps 20% of Muscat petit grain inter-planted, the Dirlers’ 2008 Muscat d’Alsace Spiegel smells of fresh apricot, orange blossom, and mint; comes to the palate infectiously juicy with added aspects of musk melon; and persists with a sort of refreshment unfortunately rare in its genre. There isn’t the riveting, ravishing mineral dimension that makes the corresponding Saering so exciting, but if you can score some bottles of this in lieu of that, it will prove more than mere consolation. Put this uncommonly elegant and vivacious Muscat through its paces over the next 6-8 years. As usual chez Dirler, I was forced during my most recent visit to take a slightly abbreviated tour of the two most recent collections on account of this family’s sheer multitude of bottlings, but it is clear from their 2008s that this remains one of the most frequently exciting – and generally consistent – sources of wine in Alsace, making it unfortunate that one doesn’t see Dirler-Cade wines more often in the U.S. Moreover, this is an estate that’s rendering highly distinctive; often deliciously unorthodox; but never fashion-pandering innovations while retaining a clear and constant vision of how the classic cepages of Alsace should perform in sites that can boast some of the longest – not to mention most-deserved – reputations of any in their region. All this having been noted, 2009 was a challenge even here: sometimes well-met, but seldom entirely surmounted. Rieslings were being harvested as early as mid-September, and Jean Dirler observes that had he cut back the crop on his Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer rather than allowing bunches to remain abundant, he would really have had a problem with sky-high potential alcohol. (For more on the Dirlers’ sites and methods, consult my reports on earlier vintages.)Importer: Robert Chadderdon Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 757-8185