Alsace whites are some of my guilty pleasures. They have extraordinary flavor intensity, coupled with lovely acidity levels and minerality, making them mouth-watering and irresistible. These wines are capable of aging years if not decades. Approximately 35% of Alsace's Grand Cru vineyards are planted to Pinot Gris. The Hengst vineyard is complex, with a depression at its center, but the vineyard generally runs south-easterly 755 to 1180 feet above sea level with complicated geological strata that are quite visible to the naked eye but predominantly limestone.
2017 Albert Mann Pinot Gris Hengst Grand Cru
96 WA / 95 WE
Harvested on September 19, the 2017 Pinot Gris Grand Cru Hengst offers generous and open (tropical) fruit with lots of floral aromas and great elegance. On the palate, this is a generous, dense, persistently salty and finely tannic Pinot with a great and lively finish. From an average of 30-year-old vines on limestone-sandstone soils, this is "Madame Hengst," one of the most female Hengst grands crus I have tasted. It is lush and salty on the finish, even with some exotic Gewurtz flavors, always refined and very, very elegant. Bottled with 14% alcohol plus 22 grams of residual sugar, so there is a lot to swallow here. Tasted at the domaine in October 2018. Stephan Reinhardt – The Wine Advocate
A touch of flinty reduction still clings to this wine's aromas of juicy pear. The palate, precise and firm, then swells to contain all the vivid, ripe pear fruit. Freshness makes the mouth water. Despite the richness, this concentrated wine stays toned and firm. The finish is just off dry and balanced, ringing with richness and precision. Anne Krebiehl MW- Wine Enthusiast
2017 Albert Mann Pinot Gris Furstentum Grand Cru
95 WE / 94 WA
$39.89/750ml (In Stock) Buy Now
A heady sense of red-cheeked Mirabelle skin and ripe pear releases fruitiness on this wine's nose. The palate pulls it all together into a body of freshness and precision. Immensely concentrated, it has a mouthwatering sense of dried citrus-peel richness. The off-dry finish displays supreme balance and convinces with solidity that echoes with pepper spice. Drink by 2045. Anne Krebeihl MW - Wine Enthusuast
The 2017 Pinot Gris Grand Cru Furstentum is beautifully clear and fresh on the nose, provided with lots of fresh pineapple and tangerine notes. From 25-year-old vines and harvested on September 19, this rich, intense and powerful Pinot Gris is concentrated, fleshy but firmly structured almost like a red Pinot. Very expressive and with a salivating finish. Bottled with 13.5% alcohol and 17 grams of residual sugar. Tasted October 2018. Stephan Reinhardt – The Wine Advocate
