2002 Gewurztraminer Hengst

Jean Meyer, who is widely cited by insiders as one of the few remaining reliable sources for truly dry wine in Alsace, describes 2001 as a very harmonious vintage, with good body and healthy acidity. The wines had a pulpy character even in the juice stage.The fermentations were very long, especially for the rieslings, and for a while I was afraid that this was due to the fact that in 2001 we farmed our older vineyards biodynamically for the first time.But the long fermentations brought greater complexity, and the rieslings are all basically bone-dry."The 2002s have high acidity but it's good acidity, not unripe acidity, Meyer told me, adding that the rieslings went through malolactic fermentation. The acids in 2002 are more of a problem for our customers than for my palate," he then admitted.I came away particularly enthusiastic about my tasting with Meyer.His wines were as vibrant and aromatically precise as ever, but the flavors seemed more thoroughly ripe than in the past, and I found more texture and density in the wines without any accompanying heaviness.