Good wines have shape in the mouth, a trajectory of undulating intensities that guide our attention. This one has some of that as it starts with focus and drive, becomes expansive and full in the midpalate and then fades to a dry, astringent finish.
Pear is the dominant aroma, with hints of lychee, lime and gardenia top notes, and apricot lurking in the background. Complex and intoxicating, and as the wine warms in the glass, sly petrol emerges at the margin.
The palate is lush with lanolin but crisp, buoyed by great acidity holding the ebullient fruit in balance with a medium-length, bitter finish, showing grapefruit. Flinty minerality just as the finish begins to unfold keeps the characteristic bitterness from becoming distracting.
The personality is exuberant and expressive, but quite dry and poised.
It makes me fall in love with Gewurztraminer all over again.
From estate grapes, 90% fermented in stainless steel, 10% in neutral oak with about 15% of the grapes frozen and then thawed before pressing to add weight and texture.
Score: 92
Price: $20
Alc: 14.3%
Ambient is the music of Gewurztraminer. Its flavors pop and sizzle like looping, arpeggiated synth runs, although if you’re a classical music fan, Debussy will do fine. The ambient sparkle of DJ Spooky’s Dementia Absentia brings out the polychrome dimensions of this lovely wine:
Exploring the Philosophy of Food and Wine 