2004 Riesling Brand Grand Cru

"Our wines are built to live, rather than to please," said Jean Meyer, who would much rather showcase his wines after they've had a bit of time to develop than in the year or so after they have been bottled. The 2005s, which Meyer describes as the products of a "deeper, soil vintage," are especially in need of time to mature and to develop their flavors. In comparison, Meyer describes 2004 as "a vintage in the humid air, a happy vintage, extroverted and full of flavor. You smell everything after a rain. The nose is an invitation to the palate." These are wonderfully food-flexible wines, and Meyer, a noted gourmet, is happy with the results of biodynamic viticulture (he has farmed organically since the 2001 vintage). "With bio, you can't find the alcoholic warmth in the wines, and this is especially useful for gewurztraminer," he pointed out. Meyer has radically restructured his business since 2000, eliminating all purchases of fruit and making wines only from his own vineyards, in the process sharply cutting back on production. "But now we don't have to prostitute ourselves, and I have no problem putting even my most basic bottlings on the table."