A hint of mushroom in the nose of the Barmes-Buecher 2008 Cremant d’Alsace Brut Lot 8001 (disgorged in June of last year) is unsurprising given the tendencies of this vintage and of some of the varieties from which it is assembled, which are Auxerrois, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, and a smidgeon of Pinot Noir. Behind that, fresh pear and freshly-milled grain, honeysuckle and heliotrope make for an alluring aromatic display; then follow on a palate that deftly combines richness of texture with levity, a cut of lemony acidity, and mouthwatering, saline savor. A very fine mousse and intriguingly notes of forest floor and fields of grain in the finish clinch this as an excellent value – at least in ex-cellar terms, and if you can get hold of some. (I’ve seen this stateside before but couldn’t find any current offering while researching retail prices for this report.) 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

Assembled from Auxerrois, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris, the Barmes-Buecher 2007 Cremant d’Alsace Brut Lot 7001 offers a lovely nose of fresh pear, lily-of-the-valley, freshly-milled wheat; offers great delicacy, refined mousse, and subtle creaminess on a palate laced with inner-mouth florals and on which fresh orange and lime offer vivacious juiciness; and finishes with wheat germ, nut oils, and subtle sous-bois offering low tones to compliment the pear and flowers. Here is yet more proof that amid the many-too-many mediocre wines of this genre, a few renditions like this excellent value stand out and ought to enjoy a far wider clientele. 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