2006 Riesling Sommerberg

Bernard Schoffit is not the only vigneron I visited in Alsace in September who is now trying to make drier and more food-friendly wines. "My private clients still like rich wines, but the export markets increasingly want vins de gastronomie," he told me. Earlier picking for better acidity is one way to achieve this objective, according to Schoffit, and on September 23 of 2008 he had already picked his pinot blanc and pinot Auxerrois from early-maturing sites around Colmar. Schoffit told me he started pruning short in 1994 and his fruit may have been getting ripe too early. "The window for picking around Colmar is short, and I was waiting too long," he explained. Schoffit describes 2007 as "a great vintage featuring a clean harvest and moderate maturity levels in the grapes-great for dry wines but not for sweet ones. "When I picked in 2007 I did not want to lose a gram of acidity," he told me. But he added that if 2001 brought more botrytis, the rot in 2007 was nobler and fresher, and the wines from the new vintage are characterized by great finesse. Two thousand six was a much tougher vintage at this address. Schoffit told me the vintage was saved by the very low crop level. He carried out a strict selection and sold off a good portion of his production, ultimately making the equivalent of 24 hectoliters per hectare, and more like 16 for his grand crus. (Weygandt-Metzler Importing, Unionville, PA) Also recommended: 2006 Pinot Blanc Auxerrois Vieilles Vignes (86), 2006 Pinot Gris Tradition (86), 2007 Chasselas Vieilles Vignes (86), 2007 Sylvaner (86), 2007 Pinot Blanc Auxerrois Vieilles Vignes (85).