Originating as usual in vines just outside the Barmes-Buecher winery (though across the communal line in Wintzenheim), and effectively a vendange tardive, the 2008 Gewurztraminer Wintzenheim Cuvee Maxime is fetchingly scented with mint, rose petal, overripe honeydew melon, and suggestions of caramelized baked goods. Buoyant and softly-textured, it evinces only a moderate concentration of flavor, which would be fine if the effect of residual sugar were not so dominant. Still, this is polished, pretty – even elegant – and perhaps capable of remaining healthy for long enough – ten or more years – that its sense of sweetness will begin to diminish. But will lack of concentration thwart such longer-term cellaring, I wonder? For sipping solo over the short term this certainly has lots of appeal. As Francois Barmes was in the U.S. presenting his wines all the time that I was in Alsace last November, I tasted with his wife Genevieve and (for the first time in serious conversation with) his son Maxime, who clearly has the sharp wits and experimental spirit to harness his youthful enthusiasm. (I did not, however, ask him to play devil’s advocate in the case for biodynamics, which is by now a well-established practice at this address! For more on Barmes’ methodology, consult my report in issue 188.) Most of the 2009 Rieslings were almost shockingly low in acidity, but whether or not and if so to what degree they were thereby handicapped varied depending on the individual cuvee. Overall, Barmes’ approach to this vintage seems to have been to avoid problems from rapidly-ascending sugar and low acidity by picking relatively early, even if at the price of capturing only modestly ripe flavors. The array of 2009s I have reviewed is somewhat abbreviated, first on account of decisions the domaine made to conflate or omit the bottling of certain cuvees; secondly because a couple of Pinot Gris were still fermenting when I visited last November; and thirdly since from among a trio of whites still in tank awaiting sulfuring and bottling – testimony to the anomalously and inexplicably slow evolution of 2009s at this address – only one was in condition amenable to assessment. The 2008 collection is, thankfully, much more typically excellent.Importer: Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ; tel. (856) 608 9644; also, a Thomas Calder Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 011-33-1-46-45-15-29

Celery root, parsley, caramel, and rose petal, in the nose of Barmes’ 2007 Gewurztraminer Wintzenheim Cuvee Maxime set the rather yin-yang tone for this sweet yet far from seamlessly ripe wine. Voluminous and creamy, it at the same time displays a slightly detached sense of acidity. Caramelized, it also evinces strong herbal bitterness in its finish. All I can say is one should revisit this again with a couple of years in bottle but I doubt it will knit. There is as usual a lot of fascinating wine in Francois Barmes’ constantly shifting, hugely diverse as well as just plain huge 2007 collection, though the level of success was on the whole consistent. As in the past, though, I remained relatively unconvinced by Barmes’ way with Pinot Gris, despite its being a grape that elsewhere revealed special potential in 2007. I can’t say 2006 here represents an advertisement for Barmes’ conscientious and long-standing biodynamic practices, but then, in a year of rampant rot, surely the absence of anti-botrytis sprays has to have been sorely felt at many biodynamic estates. There were a couple of 2006s here too fungal to recommend, with the majority of what was a reduced line-up meriting mild recommendation provided they are drunk-up soon.Importer: Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ; tel. (856) 608 9644; also, a Thomas Calder Selection (various importers), Paris; fax 011-33-1-46-45-15-29

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