Highlights (and lowlights) from the Millésimes Alsace Digitasting 2023

The ‘COVID-era’ of lockdowns during 2020-2022 was unquestionably shit, but some of the flow-on changes to how we interact are pretty welcome.

For one, the huge upgrades in video calling tech (Though give me Google Meet over Zoom any day) have made talking to wine people on the other side of the planet now surprisingly straightforward. Combine that with a move to more virtual events instead of time-hogging meetups on a Monday or Tuesday in the city, and life is actually easier. Not everyone likes the virtual masterclasses, but I find them so welcome when I’m trying to balance out multiple jobs/projects with a young family.

One of the more enjoyable virtual wine events of 2021 lobbed up again this year, too, with the Millésimes Alsace Digitasting 2023 again promising to bring a slice of Alsace around the globe in a virtual wine fair.

Here, producers bottled up tiny one-glass sample bottles of demonstrative wines, and again there was a raft of masterclasses plus time to meet (virtually) with any producer you liked over a three-day period.

Yet again, I managed to jam that period with other activities (I did the 3hr La Perouse Rogaine and ended up cooked for days afterwards), so I missed the whole human interaction side altogether. Still, I did manage to try a smorgasbord of 32 Alsace wines, with varying success.

Why varying? Rebottling anything is fraught with challenges, especially when trying to balance out what is just the right amount of sulphur/inert gas to keep wines fresh without causing reduction issues. This year’s selection of ‘mini flutes’ lobbed up so many oxidised and reductive wines that I stopped writing reviews. Did I get a box of samples that were cooked in transit? Who knows, but the success rate was abysmal.

Anyway, these were a few of the wines that I did like. Producer notes in italics.

Veronique & Thomas Mure Zinnkoepfle Grand Cru Riesling 2020

Biodynamic. ‘Crystal, clean and fresh a deep wine with fine herbaceous aromas’. 13.5% alc.

Dense and rather backward in its thick and dense mandarin and lemon style. This has such a powerful palate – a real powerhouse Riesling through the back too. I love the ripe style of the Mure wines – they’re full-bodied, yellow-tinged, muscular things of real power. Delicious. 18.5/20, 94/100.

Domaine Vincent Spannegel Wineck-Schlossberg Grand Cru Gewurztraminer 2020

‘Old vines of the Wineck Schlossberg which give birth to an airy, dry, salty, mineral Riesling with the great elegance and finesse of the Grand Cru’. 13.3% alc.

Orange blossom, orange juice, a flourish of talc. Carefully contained richness and enough sweetness to counter the phenolic grip. That floral perfume flows right through the finish. This is what Gewurz can be! Not over the top, just gloriously intense. 18.5/20, 94/100

Veronique & Thomas Mure Clos St Landelin Vorbourg Grand Cru Riesling 2020

Biodynamic. ‘Very elegant, it’s a wine with a great cellar potential’. 13.5% alc.

Green and lemon citrus, but the star here is the palate which feels rather dense and powerful in a dry and lemony mode. Super acidity makes this just fresh enough too. Nice wine, different to the Zinnkoepfle, with more lemon and acid shape. Long term. 18/20, 93/100+

Domaine Schoffit Riesling 2020

‘The “Harth” has been mentioned in writings since the years 1000, which probably makes it one of the oldest wine-producing area of Alsace. The combination of its gravel soil and of the grape riesling creates a wine that is floral’. 14% alc.

AOC Riesling from the Harth lieu-dit. Lovely textural thing – orange peel, ripe mandarin, cloudy apple juice. After that richer start it turns tart and tightens, which was hard to take when I opened this at 7:30am, but the contrast of juicy start and crisp tail is pretty interesting. It just needs a bit more volume through the back end to be delicious. 17.7/20, 92/100.

Willm Kirchberg de Barr Grand Cru Riesling 2021

‘Dominating the city of Barr in the Bas-Rhin, the vines of this Grand Cru flourish on shallow clay-limestone soils. The southeastern exposure is ideal and the slopes make the Kirchberg de Barr a remarkable terroir.‘ 12.5% alc.

Enjoyable drink this, but it takes a while to get going. Apple and pear with a gently juicy palate that is more crisp and taut than you would first think. MIght be worth more patience. 17.7/20, 92/100.

Domaine Hurst Viellies Vignes Gewurztraminer 2020

Biodynamic. ‘The nose is spicy with hints of white peach and raisins. the mouth is well balanced with a slight acidity at the end of the mouth, good presence of stone fruits. 14.5% alc.

Golden edge. Luscious and generous sort of mode, if a little boozy. There’s this fullness through the middle here that is quite alluring. Lees varietal, more golden stone fruit ripeness. Lots of flavour. Chunky, almost custardy richness. Just a bit broad to finish but hedonistic. 17.5/20, 91/100.

Cave de Ribeauville Rodern Pinot Noir 201

‘Beautiful nose with notes of red berries (black cherries). Very well balanced and well matured with a long after taste’. 12.5% alc.

Very much in the bony Alsace Pinot mode. Bright red raspberried wine, though it’s a bit gamey and ferrous on the palate. Needs more generosity, but not unsubstantial. Tannins are a bit rough-edged, which robs it of some appeal. Has intensity though. 17/20, 90/100.