The Fallers’ 2005 Pinot Gris Cuvee Saint Catherine is smoky, spicy and obviously ottling-inflected from the tip of its nose to its long, pungent, chewy, faintly warm finish. Yet, there is admirable richness as well as purity of peach and persimmon fruit here – even the bit of heat is like that of skillfully-employed chili peppers: invigorating and transparent to the wine’s other flavors. It seems quite possible that 3-5 years in bottle will bring further complexity but it can be employed at table right away, its 14 grams of residual sugar by no means engendering significant sweetness.The dynamic trio of Fallers continues to bottle some of France’s (hardly just Alsace’s) richest and most flamboyant wines. Beginning with 2005, all of their vineyards are being biodynamically farmed. Laurence Faller finds their 2005s in general “more focused and clear” (this was especially true of Riesling) despite their often prominent botrytis component, and the 2004s richer. I suppose it goes without saying, but one has to carefully scrutinize each Weinbach label, so numerous are the cuvees. And as wonderful as is the distinctiveness exhibited by the vast majority of wines here, even a geek like yours truly could be forgiven for asking whether somewhat fewer different ottling might benefit consumers as well as journalists!Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802