The Sparr 2008 Pinot Gris Reserve offers aromas of peaches and smoked meat typical for its variety. Soft and lush if a bit loose on the palate, it happily conjoins modest (13.5%) alcohol with true dryness. Subtle salinity and meat stock suggestions mingle with the peaches in a satisfyingly sappy, faintly but invigoratingly bitter finish. Enjoy this over the next 2-3 years. The characteristic wines from the enormous house of Sparr are soft and sometimes diffuse. They can exhibit delicacy, but that can easily cross a fine line into dilution.Importer: William Deutsch & Son Ltd., White Plains, NY; tel. (914) 251-9463

After a few sulphur notes blow off, pretty vanilla and carnation aromas come forward, accented by delicate Chinese spices. There’s more subtlety in the mouth and a rich texture, with melon top notes and a dry, medium finish. Drink now. ——W.E.(6/1/2010)—— 86

Sparr’s 2005 Pinot Gris Reserve smells of apple jelly, peach, and honey, suggesting sweetness as well as high ripeness in a way confirmed on the palate. There is more than enough fresh fruitedness here to keep a plush, honeyed, slightly sweet wine from becoming at all ponderous, although its otherwise satisfying finish betrays a hint of heat. (The corresponding Gewurztraminer stuck me as far too dominated by its residual sugar.)The enormous acreage controlled by the Sparr family – supplemented by purchased grapes, and since 2005 by the acquisition of Riquewihr’s Domaine Baumann as well – makes them among the commercially most important wineries in Alsace. Qualitatively, the extended selection of recent releases that I tasted here were a mixed bag, but only the best of them rose to the level of wholehearted recommendation. That number, incidentally, included several of the sparkling cuvees for which they are well known. The characteristic still wine here is soft, rich, slightly sweet, and often a bit loose and diffuse. Vintages 2004 and 2005 – with their frequent botryits component – are no doubt not the easiest for working in such a style.Importer: William Deutsch & Son Ltd., White Plains, NY; tel. (914) 251-9463