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The Best Producer in Alsace

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Who is THE BEST producer in Alsace?

Marcel Deiss
0
No votes
Domaine Zind Humbrecht
4
20%
Domaine Weinbach
2
10%
Other -and it better be good
14
70%
 
Total votes : 20
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Bill Hooper

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The Best Producer in Alsace

by Bill Hooper » Thu Jul 27, 2006 12:33 am

We may all have our favorites, but can we all agree that these are the fillets of Alsace? IMO they are far and away ahead of the pack. If not, who else?
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Bob Ross

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Re: The Best Producer in Alsace

by Bob Ross » Thu Jul 27, 2006 12:40 am

For me, it's Trimbach, Bill. Love the wines, but the history, the limited production, the incredible consistency of great wines during the 1900s and into this century -- they have to be considered.

Just taste a Close St. Hune or a Cuvee Frederic Emile -- may not be the best -- but gee you have to at least consider them.

Regards, Bob
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Bill Hooper

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Re: The Best Producer in Alsace

by Bill Hooper » Thu Jul 27, 2006 1:08 am

Trimbach makes stunning wines on the upper end. But the generics are spotty and mostly made from purchased produce. The Best has to be just that and show consistency throughout the entire range. I failed to throw in Hugel for the same reason.


Prost!
-Bill
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James Dietz

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Re: The Best Producer in Alsace

by James Dietz » Thu Jul 27, 2006 1:14 am

I also favor Trimbach.. and also Schoffit
Cheers, Jim
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Re: The Best Producer in Alsace

by Eric Ifune » Thu Jul 27, 2006 1:19 am

I also would go with Trimbach. They have their domaine wines and their negotient wines. I don't think you can judge their domaine wines based on their negotient wines. They are two seperate parts of their company. The CSH and CFE are among the apex of Alsace wines. Their VT and SGN's are classics. Deiss, Weinbach, and Zind-Humbrech would love to have the record of these wines.
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Eric Ifune

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Re: The Best Producer in Alsace

by Eric Ifune » Thu Jul 27, 2006 1:21 am

Just taste a Close St. Hune or a Cuvee Frederic Emile -- may not be the best -- but gee you have to at least consider them.


Actually I think most people would consider them the best.
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Re: The Best Producer in Alsace

by Bernard Roth » Thu Jul 27, 2006 1:27 am

I can't say I've had a Deiss that wowed me.

On the other hand, I have had terrific wines from Boxler. So I have to wonder about the reason for putting Deiss and not Boxler?
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Re: The Best Producer in Alsace

by James Dietz » Thu Jul 27, 2006 1:31 am

Sounds like Bill might have had a notion of which HE thought were best... with this board.. well... people are going to be all over the board in terms of who they like.... which is nice.. since we all will get some idea of maybe some unfamiliar producers to try. I have found myself buying more from Alsace and less from Germany because of the sweetness of far too many German whites.... So, I'm happy to see who different folks favor.
Cheers, Jim
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Re: The Best Producer in Alsace

by Bob Ross » Thu Jul 27, 2006 1:38 am

Bill, I understand the distinction, but no other Alsatian producer gets raves from me like this one:

1985 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune Alsace France. Pale straw in color, still with a slight greenish cast at the edge; brilliantly focused in the nose, classic Riesling, minerality, light petrol and a touch of citrus peel; on the palate, medium-light bodied, still quite youthful and the good acidity belie its 15 years of age; the finish is crisp, and lingering. An exceptionally flavorful, superb Riesling — my white wine of the night, and second favorite of the evening. 5*.

I've had about 50 Trimbachs over the past ten years, only one with three stars, ten with four, and the rest with five or four plus.

A winner for me, even though I've liked other producer's wines. Nothing matches Trimbach in our house.

Regards, and thanks for a great poll, Bob
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Re: The Best Producer in Alsace

by James Roscoe » Thu Jul 27, 2006 7:31 am

I'm a Trimbach guy too. I also like the Sparr line, but I drink at the value end. Even there I prefer the Trimbach IMHO.
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Re: The Best Producer in Alsace

by Rahsaan » Thu Jul 27, 2006 8:08 am

I don't drink lots of Alsatian wine, but isn't Deiss quite unreliable?
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Re: The Best Producer in Alsace

by Sam Platt » Thu Jul 27, 2006 8:32 am

For your poll to be meaningful you really have to include Trimbach as a selection. Otherwise I do not believe that the results will give you much useful information.
Sam

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Re: The Best Producer in Alsace

by Dan Smothergill » Thu Jul 27, 2006 9:09 am

This acknowledged non-expert (2 weeks in Alsace) liked Jean Becker in Zellenberg, Schlumberger, and Albert Boxler.
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Re: The Best Producer in Alsace

by Robin Garr » Thu Jul 27, 2006 9:22 am

Bill Hooper wrote:We may all have our favorites, but can we all agree that these are the fillets of Alsace? IMO they are far and away ahead of the pack. If not, who else?


I'm not a huge Alsace fan, but I'm far from persuaded by Zind-Humbrecht. Maybe it's just an instinctive aversion to a Parker favorite, but it seems to me that they depart from traditional Alsatian style in pursuit of points, and I don't like that.

I think Trimbach clearly belongs on your list, and among small producers, I could make a strong case for Marc Kreydenweiss.

I never hear about Mittnach-Klack any more, but they were a real cult item among wine geeks in the 1980s.
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Re: The Best Producer in Alsace

by Bob Parsons Alberta » Thu Jul 27, 2006 10:04 am

Cattin and Mann. Not too much experience with Trimbach but what I have had has been superb.
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Re: The Best Producer in Alsace

by Ed Draves » Thu Jul 27, 2006 5:36 pm

yet another Trimbach
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Re: The Best Producer in Alsace

by Florida Jim » Thu Jul 27, 2006 6:48 pm

Bill,
Here we will agree to disagree.
Trimbach is, IMO, far the most reliable and has the finest bottlings at all price points.
Best, Jim
Jim Cowan
Cowan Cellars
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Re: The Best Producer in Alsace

by JoePerry » Thu Jul 27, 2006 7:31 pm

Robin Garr wrote:
Bill Hooper wrote:We may all have our favorites, but can we all agree that these are the fillets of Alsace? IMO they are far and away ahead of the pack. If not, who else?


I'm not a huge Alsace fan, but I'm far from persuaded by Zind-Humbrecht. Maybe it's just an instinctive aversion to a Parker favorite, but it seems to me that they depart from traditional Alsatian style in pursuit of points, and I don't like that.


I'll sum up ZH with a quote from Gary Walsh regarding one of the dry wines: "I didn't know whether to drink it or rub it on my chest."

My favs are Trimbach and Lorentz.
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Re: The Best Producer in Alsace

by Bill Buitenhuys » Thu Jul 27, 2006 7:42 pm

For my money, I like Trimbach for riesling and Kreyedenweiss or Weinbach for gewurtz.
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Re: The Best Producer in Alsace

by John S » Thu Jul 27, 2006 9:12 pm

Deiss is a tricky one to compare with other Alsace producers, as he's the only one to make many of his top wines through a field blend. He's not the only one to ignore the grand cru system in Alsace (there are a few others who follow the same path), but that certainly differentiates them from Trimbach, Weinbach and Z-H as well in some respects. Of course, although he doesn't name the grand cru, he still uses them...

I'm not a big fan of saying there should be one 'best' producer from any one region, but I admit it's a fun and interesting process to discuss it! It's especially tricky in Alsace, where there are three main grapes to deal with (as others have noted, some producers do better than others with, for example, riesling, pinot gris, or gewurtztraminer) and dry and VT/SGN styles as well; not to mention the fact that some producers seem to do slightly better than others each year. Then there's the whole dry vs residual sugar style preferences to deal with!
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Re: The Best Producer in Alsace

by Dave Erickson » Fri Jul 28, 2006 9:14 am

Hubert Hartmann's Chateau D'Orschwihr. The man who transmutes pinot blanc into something heavenly. His riesling is pretty super, too.
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Re: The Best Producer in Alsace

by Saina » Fri Jul 28, 2006 12:48 pm

Florida Jim wrote:Bill,
Here we will agree to disagree.
Trimbach is, IMO, far the most reliable and has the finest bottlings at all price points.
Best, Jim


I agree. From the basic varietal bottlings to the CFE all are IMO bloody brilliant! Trimbach even makes a Gewurz I'm very fond of: Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre.

For cheapies, one who makes very pure expressions of the grapes is Joseph Scharsch.

I've got a funny relationship with Z-H. I love tasting his wines. But I really don't think I could ever manage more than a tasting pour of them. Especially at big walk-about tastings it's nice to go to the Z-H lineup because there will be acidity and minerals and they are always interesting in some ways. But they are also a tad in-your-face, too big, and too tiring to drink.
I don't drink wine because of religious reasons ... only for other reasons.
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Re: The Best Producer in Alsace

by Tim York » Fri Jul 28, 2006 2:53 pm

I can't work out how to cast my vote. It is emphatically "other", I.E. for Trimbach Sainte-Hune and Fréd. Emile.
Tim York
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Re: The Best Producer in Alsace

by David M. Bueker » Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:06 pm

I picked Weinbach off the list, but that is specifically for their Gewurztraminer. No other estate compares to Trimbach for Riesling IMNSHO.

I'm not much of a Pinot Gris fan, so no real opinion there.
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