Albert Boxler, Alsace
The 2021 Riesling stems from two main parcels on the Sommerberg Grand Cru, steep and granitic. The vines are between 50-60 years old. There is a little more topsoil, for slightly more intensity. The nose will give little away apart from shy hints of lemon zest. The palate is absolutely pure, absolutely dry, absolutely slender, taut and linear. There is a lovely pithy edge, lending texture to this precise wine, stony and clear as a bell, lithe and vivid with lemon and full of drive. For purists. Wow. (Bone-dry) - Anne Krebiehl MW
Boxler's 2020 Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg offers a clear, deep, pure and complex bouquet with perfectly ripe fruit aromas intertwined with the beautifully flinty and floral or herbal terroir notes of the super steep Sommerberg. The fruit is virtually perfectly ripe and irresistibly aromatic. On the palate, this is a perfectly round and balanced Riesling with dense fruit intertwined with mineral texture, density and grip. The finish reveals very fine tannins and impressive intensity, but nothing here is too loud, too willing or too rich. This is a beauty with highly finessed acidity and serene character, despite its serious complexity. This Sommerberg gives great pleasure immediately. - Stephan Reinhardt
For ung. Ultraren, rank, større dybde end i vinen fra de unge stokke, mere stenet og mineralsk, men også med en bredere frugt, forlenet med en både floral og mineralsk karakter. Det er vild vin, det her – eller bliver det. - Niels Lillelund
Bright straw. Open-knit, spicy aromas of tropical fruit and herbs are very granite-driven. Lemony and lively, featuring a slightly chewy quality to the licorice, mineral and stone fruit flavors. Closes long and tactile with lemony mineral bite. Lovely Sommerberg, made from Boxler’s two parcels of vines that never undergo water stress (and they didn’t in hot 2015 either), blessed as they are with deeper soil. This is more harmonious than Boxler’s 2014 Riesling Sommerberg and seems less sweet than that wine at the same stage of development. - Ian D'Agata
Fortryllende kombination af ren og spæd druesødme, klar og præcis druesmag og lang, velplaceret syre. Sommerberg, lidt vest for Colmar, er kendt for sin granitholdige jord og for lang holdbarhed for de bedste Riesling’er. Boxlers 2015’er er en af dem, præget, men ikke domineret af sit mineralske ophav, suveræn i stil og smag, delikat og rank. Kombinationen af sødme og syre gør den også til en fremragende madvin – men også som aperitif eller hyggevin er den fremragende. - Henrik Oldenburg
Boxler's 2015 Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg opens with the discreet charm and aristocratic distinction of a great wine. Very pure, clear, fine and elegant on the nose, with fine stony and herbal flavors but also ripe stone fruit and floral aromas, the 2015 tells the story of its origin in the glass in an excitingly subtle yet deep way. The palate is great! It is intense and juicy, nicely concentrated and ripe, with a touch of sweetness but gorgeous finesse, vitality and piquancy. The finish is pure and salty and develops a fascinating juiciness that explodes in the finish. This is not a wine for mouthfeel drinkers, but it is surely one of the finest, most delicate and balanced Rieslings you can find from this vintage. The combination of concentration, complexity, structure, minerality and sweetness (due to the low acidity, higher alcohol and extract) could hardly be better. - Stephan Reinhardt
Pale straw. Lemony acidity and white flowers on the nose and palate. Offers plenty of juicy detail and sneaky concentration, with the mineral and orchard fruit nuances lingering on the crisp palate. Made with grapes grown in two plots that are not especially close to each other, but are at the same altitude and have deeper soil than other parcels in the Sommerberg owned by Boxler. As the grapevines behave differently in this particular Sommerberg micro-terroir (for example, the vines have much greater resistance to dry weather conditions), Boxler prefers to bottle the wine from these grapes separately.
From 40 years old vines (average) cultivated predominantly in the Wanne and a smaller percentage in the lower part of the Wiptal, the 2013 Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg shows a distinctive and flinty nose of white fruits and lemon,s along with floral aromas and crushed granite rocks. Intense, lush, and fleshy but still very fine and precise in its crystalline articulation and finessefull vitality, this is a very elegant, vital and complex Riesling with a long, aromatic and tension-filled finish.
