This is a predominantly Balance & Finesse wine, but it shares structural nuances of Rich & Full as described in the tasting note below.
Tasting Notes
The Boxler Grand Cru Brand Riesling straddles Balance and Finesse and Rich and Full palate characters. The crisp acidity deftly balances the slight sweetness while the fruit adds concentration with ripe apricot, peach, and notes of lemon and lime. Subtle hints of herbs and flowers and an attractive minerality extends the finish with white pepper and honey notes.
Body is the impression of a wines weight, density, or its ‘mouth-feel’. Some wines feel weighty, or full bodied, while others feel light bodied. Wine runs the gamut from light to full, with most falling somewhere in between.
ACIDITY
Low
Moderate
Balanced
Crisp
High
Acidity is a foundational component in wine. In fact, low acidity, or ‘flabby’ wine (as the term suggests) is a negative. You can sense acidity mainly on the sides of your tongue. Acidity generally ranges from balanced to high. Crisp acidity adds freshness, making your mouth water. Acidity is a necessary element and helps to balance other components.
SWEETNESS
Dry
Off Dry
Medium Dry
Medium Sweet
Very Sweet
Most wines are characterized as dry to off-dry, but there are some grape varietals, like Riesling, that run the gamut from dry to sweet. The tip of the tongue mainly detects sweetness, which is why it is often the primary characteristic detected. Sweetness is derived from residual sugar that did not ferment into alcohol.
ALCOHOL
14%
Alcohol is the by-product of fermentation. Differing grape varieties have differing potential alcohol levels, but regardless warmer areas result in riper grapes resulting in higher alcohol. Alcohol level is an objective number, but its affect on its palate impression is largely determined with how well integrated and balanced it is with other components.
Albert Boxler is one of our favorite producers of Riesling in France.
GRAPE VARIETAL(S)
Riesling
100%REES-ling
Riesling is one of the greatest, long-lived white wines in the world, highly expressive of the nuances of its respective terroir. The wines are generally relatively low to moderate in alcohol with crisp acidity and full of flavor and extract. Stylistically, it can vary from bone dry to quite sweet, and with age can develop intense aromatics. Because Riesling is so expressive of the terroir from where it is grown, it can show a potential mix of floral, fruity, intensely mineral, smoky and/or spicy aromas and flavors depending on the soil, climate, and exposure.
Founded in 1673, the family-run estate of Domaine Albert Boxler produces some of the best rieslings in Alsace (and the world) through long-observed traditional techniques.
Boxler is meticulous in the vineyard, hand-picking all grapes. The granite soils of the Sommerberg and Brand Grand Cru vineyards offer the perfect terroir to create racy, intense rieslings.
The family’s largely unchanged formula consistently yields some of the most complex, age-worthy expressions of riesling from one of France's most underappreciated historical wine regions.
Apricot
Peach
Mineral
Organic
