Wine Reviews

Expected lychee notes get a pleasant lemon zest lift on the nose. A crisp, tangy, slightly saline front palate is linear and taut, but it opens up on the finish to bright lychee and lemon ice notes that give a lasting, fruity-but-not-sweet impression.

Cream, rose petal and spice accents waft from the glass of this plushly textured, medium-bodied white, while vivid acidity provides a fine, balancing frame for the palate’s lychee, apricot, tangerine and stony mineral notes.

The intensely citrus colored 2016 Gewurztraminer Turckheim is from vines averaging 47 years old and opens with a very precise and slightly smoky bouquet with lovely spicy Gewurtz notes. Full-bodied yet clean and crisp on the palate, this is an intense, elegant and perfectly balanced wine that fermented down to 3.6 grams of residual sugar, while the alcohol is a moderate 13.6%.

Honeysuckle, wet earth and peach pop up amid intense notes of damask rose. The palate is equally perfumed, covered by a veil of rose perfume that makes this wine seem richer than it actually is. Backbone and concentration comes from zesty citrus and a mere lick of residual sugar. All elements come together in an attractive package.

This is textbook Gewürztraminer, with ample rose petal and lychee aromatics, a dry, lacy texture and hints of pink grapefruit sorbet, lemon curd and ground ginger. Fresh and accessible, with a clean-cut, minerally finish.