From vines planted in 1923 and a parcel they acquired only in 1995 (the same year as their Wineck-Schlossberg), Blanck’s 2007 Riesling Sommerberg leads with high-toned kirsch and mirabelle distillate, citrus oils, and quince preserves. Creamy and richly-fruited yet dry-tasting and harboring ample primary citrus and pit fruit juiciness to serve for refreshment, this finishes with its fruit underlain by a saline, saliva-inducing, scallop-like savor. A joy to drink now, I feel sure it will remain so for at least 15 years. Frederic and Philippe Blanck are among the wine world’s – hardly just Alsace’s or France’s – truly late-releasers, and Philippe opines that their 2007s – which he compares with the 2001s – will need especially long to show their best. That noted, I found the wines highly expressive at age one year, and the domaine did a more than credible job of 2006, too. Perhaps a bit paradoxically in light of their pleas for cellar maturation, the Blancks are moving increasingly toward the use of screwcap closure, and Philippe Blanck says that when he goes back and tastes the first wines he bottled this way – from vintages 2001 and 2002 – he is delighted with their evolution, or perhaps, in fact, their freshness and relative lack of evolution. (For an isolated comparison under cork and screwcap, see my tasting note on the Blancks’ 2006 Schlossberg Riesling.) This is one of several addresses where a tendency to revert to drier bottlings can be observed, for more about which consult my tasting notes on the Blancks’ 2007 Pinot Gris and on their 2006 and 2007 Gewurztraminer crus. Note that I was not able to taste the entire Blanck line-up from either of the vintages under consideration. In particular, there were two 2007 V.T.s I missed through an unfortunate accident in which dozens of fruit flies met their end inside the previously opened bottles before they reached me!Imported by: Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300 and by The Stacole Company, Boca Raton, FL; tel. (561) 998 0029

The 2006 Riesling Sommerberg is another esterous, exotic Blanck 2006, with distilled mirabelle, banana, coconut, mango, pink grapefruit, nutmeg, faded lily, and mushroom mingling fascinatingly if extravagantly, backed by 23 grams of residual sugar, despite which the lush finish tastes barely sweet. Here too, I have to demure from its authors’ assessment and recommend enjoying this generous, gaudy Riesling – which I would certainly never have guessed blind as a Sommerberg – over the next 2-3 years. Frederic and Philippe Blanck are among the wine world’s – hardly just Alsace’s or France’s – truly late-releasers, and Philippe opines that their 2007s – which he compares with the 2001s – will need especially long to show their best. That noted, I found the wines highly expressive at age one year, and the domaine did a more than credible job of 2006, too. Perhaps a bit paradoxically in light of their pleas for cellar maturation, the Blancks are moving increasingly toward the use of screwcap closure, and Philippe Blanck says that when he goes back and tastes the first wines he bottled this way – from vintages 2001 and 2002 – he is delighted with their evolution, or perhaps, in fact, their freshness and relative lack of evolution. (For an isolated comparison under cork and screwcap, see my tasting note on the Blancks’ 2006 Schlossberg Riesling.) This is one of several addresses where a tendency to revert to drier bottlings can be observed, for more about which consult my tasting notes on the Blancks’ 2007 Pinot Gris and on their 2006 and 2007 Gewurztraminer crus. Note that I was not able to taste the entire Blanck line-up from either of the vintages under consideration. In particular, there were two 2007 V.T.s I missed through an unfortunate accident in which dozens of fruit flies met their end inside the previously opened bottles before they reached me!Imported by: Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300 and by The Stacole Company, Boca Raton, FL; tel. (561) 998 0029

The 1998 Riesling Sommerberg bursts from the glass with intense mineral, honey, and spice aromas. Medium-bodied and broad, this is a flavorful gingerbread and spice-flavored wine. It is satin-textured, expressive, and possesses excellent concentration. Drink it over the next 6-7 years. Importer: Michael Skurnik, Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300