riesling 2.jpg I thought it didn’t exist anymore, but there it was in my glass. The firm mineral and petroleum odors mixed with brilliant, zesty ripe apricot and white peach aromas that all exploded on the palate, which was braced by fine acidity. All was tightly packaged into a perfectly balanced wine. Most of all it was real, classic Alsatian wine, a type that has sadly dissolved into over-ripe quasi-dessert wines with alcohol levels that bring out the no smoking signs.

The 2004 Albert Boxler Riesling ( imported by Robert Chadderdon) is a really pretty wine that will develop and grow for many years, although I probably won’t have the discipline to save my bottles as it is just too damn good to drink now.

It is almost a shock these days to taste such a balanced wine from Alsace. Buy this wine and enjoy for it may be a dying breed. It won’t break your pocketbook to taste this classic as it goes for under $20 a bottle. Funny, it seems these days the more expensive an Alsatian wine is, the more undrinkable it becomes.