2004 Riesling Sommerberg

Bernard Schoffit was already well into picking his 2006 riesling in his sites around the city of Colmar when I stopped by to visit on September 20. Ripeness often comes early in this warm and unusually dry microclimate, and Schoffit was trying to retain adequate levels of acidity in his grapes. As to 2004, Schoffit describes the year as "a more typical Alsace vintage following the extreme growing season of 2003. The advantage of 2004 was that it was a difficult year, and careful work brought very good wines. There are some dilute wines too. There's a big difference between serious winemakers and the rest." One major story here in 2004 was the tough harvest for Schoffit's prime holding in the grand cru Rangen. "The fruit looked great on Saturday, October 23, and we were ready to pick Monday morning," said Schoffit. "But then it rained for a full week, with 200 millimeters (nearly eight inches) falling." With warm nights and humid conditions through the period, grey rot spread quickly and acidity levels plunged. In the end, Schoffit declassified most of this fruit, bottling only a bit of pinot gris from the top of the hill. There are many more high points from this cellar in 2005.