Hello
One of the daughters from this currently matrilinear vigneron in Alsace (in
Kayserberg) visited one of Helsingborg's best restaurants (and, in fact,
deemed among the ten best in Sweden, FWIW). Dinner was suitably divided
between slightly molecular and traditionally spring related (pike perch,
chicken, morells, asparagus, and a sort of blob that you could push around
with the spon and when you bit into it it was filled with something slightly
goey tasting of marshmallows).
1 Muscat Reserve 2006
While this had a fabulous Alsace Muscat nose, on palate it had a, to me, not
pleasant bitterness, and lacked structure.
2 Riesling GC Schlossberg Cuv Se Catherine 2005
[c] Strawcolored
[n] Marked TND, beeswax, honoung, very fresh
[p] Aciditity in attack, slight fizz, good structure, a certain bitterness
in the aftyertaste

3 Riesling GC Sclossberg Cuv Ste Catherine "L'Inédit" 2004
[c] Pale gold
[n] TND, florality - honeysuckle?, candied lemon zest
[p] Also with an acid attack, somewhat lighter in structure, resdiual sugar
(26 g/l), and with the same bitter finish.

Apparently, the second Riesling is only made in exceptional years when the
grapes attain a very high maturity. My own reflection is that they should
both profit from some serious cellar time - what they will be like in ten
years I know not, but as they are, they appear young and undeveloped.

4 PG Cuv Ste Catherine 2006
[c] Straw with green highlights
[n] oatmeal, apricots, orange zest
[p] Acid attack, slight fizz, some RS with (paradoxically) a dry, rather
elegant finish.

5 Pinot noir W 2005
[n] oak, red berries, vegetal notes, red flowers - dried roses?
[p] spicy, cherries, oak, dry finish

The cuvée W (W for Weinbach and "wood") is matured on barriques, one and two
years old, obtained form a producer in Nuit-St-George.
The nose of dried roses will induce me to forgive the oak, but I still
consider Alsace PN as unsuited to oak, even in the comparartively small
dosage this wine has received.

6 PG Altenbourgh VT 2005
[n] Honey, apples, saffron
[p] Sweetness in the attack, fat and acidity, lots of fruit and generous
length
Easily the best wine of this dinner. Very good balance for a PG VT, an
integration of acidity and sweetness.
Altenbough is not a GC, it is a lieu-dite.

7 Gwz GC Furstentum VT 2005
[n] Touch of wormwood? Bitter orange, grape fruit and english roses.
[p] A certain oilyness, sweet, little acidity, some bitterness on the
finish, and a certain fieryness.

During the meal we discussed what we would be willing to pay for each wine,
on the domaine. My thought was to look up their price list at home -
however, they do not have one. I searched their web site
(www.domaineweinbach.com) but it does not contain any mention of anything as
gross as costs at purchase. Perhaps slightly too refined in my never very
humble opinion.
OK, so some producers do not have a web site at all.
These were our thoughts:
1 EU 0 (we wouldn't buy it)
2 EU 15 (no way is this going at under EU 20, but never mind)
3 As #1
4 EU 14
5 As #1
6 EU 22
7 EU 18

If this gives the impression of being slightly underwhelmed, weeeeeeell ...

Cheers

Nils