2001 Pinot Gris

Marc Beyer describes this house's 2001s as "a pleasant surprise, in some cases better than 2000.With some wines we have more acidity at a similar level of ripeness," he added. Both 2002 and 2001 were classic years for the dry style but without enough heat for the sweet end."Beyer, one of several topnotch Alsace producers who have traditionally eschewed using grand cru names on their labels, has recently introduced a new bottling, the Riesling ERR, in which the "E" signifies the grand cru Eichberg.Beyer gave a simple, clear answer to a question I posed to several winemakers in the Alsace region:Why, in contrast to other Old World wine-producing regions, are Alsace's wines labeled by variety rather than by appellation? We have a climate that gives our wines a great acid balance, and that gives us great primary fruit; that's why we have the tradition of varietal bottlings," he explained. The acidity is what develops the flavors, and the slow ripening we get in our local climate is what really builds flavor intensity."The climax of my tasting chez Beyer was a series of SGN "Quintessence" bottlings currently available from this producer, including two extraordinarily rich wines from the 1998 vintage.