Albert Boxler, Riesling Grand Cru "Brand" Alsace, France 2014

No domaine in Alsace makes better Rieslings than Albert Boxler. Maybe as good, but not better. Boxler has its vineyards around the charming hamlet of Niedermorschwihr, as well as in neighboring Turckheim. The production is ecological since many years.  The wines from Boxler shine due to their finesse, purity, complexity and … all the other things that characterize great wines. Even better, since Jean Boxler manages to obtain mature fruit in the cooler years as well as to maintain firm acidity the warmer vintages, a Boxler wine will never ever let you down.

Brand is an imposing grand cru, standing steep and proud above the town of Turckheim, exposed due south and planted in pure granite. Hot stone is a theme in this wine, not unlike Rangen, although less peaty, and similar in style to Ostertag’s Heissenberg terroir, if you are familiar with that wine. Brand is Boxler’s most powerful Riesling: deeply flavored, colored, and structured, built to age. These vines work hard to make a living, and the intensity of that struggle shines through magnanimously.

Practicing organic.