2007 Riesling Les Ecaillers

The latest rendition of Beyer’s (by no means solely) shellfish-friendly “shucker’s cuvee” the 2007 Riesling Les Ecaillers is especially reminiscent of Chablis in its aromas of lemon, kirsch, herbs, and crushed stone. Bright and clear on the palate, its pungent herbs and saline, chalky mineral notes shimmer invigoratingly through thirst-quenching lemon in a savory, saliva-inducing finish. This is the current release, but will be even more interesting in a couple of years and hold well for at least a decade. That said, here is another Beyer cuvee that some Riesling lovers will find too dry and high-acid for their taste. If this wine were truly hard-edged or phenolically bitter, it wouldn’t work. But 2003 is the only recent rendition that has been less than entirely successful, and it was atypically low-acid. No 2006 Les Ecaillers was bottled, as the style wasn’t possible with the condition of fruit from the chalky parcel of Pfersigberg whence this cuvee always originates. Because Marc Beyer and his father always permitted their wines to ferment to dryness, non-Riesling bottlings at 14-15% alcohol were not uncommon here even in the ‘70s and ‘80s, when they were considered extreme simply in view of the ripeness that Beyers and their sites made possible. But those wines were very seldom compromised by roughness, heat, or leadenness. The same can be said today, except that now Beyers are mavericks for remaining committed on principle to dryness, and sweet wines in Alsace routinely exceed 14.5%. The 2006 vintage was not only inherently challenging, but also ill-suited to the Beyer house style, and nearly wholesale declassification was their response. Marc Beyer relates that he twice commenced picking his 2007s and then called a halt because it took so long for flavors to ripen and acids to moderate. The better 2007 cuvees are only beginning to show their potential, a circumstance which dovetails nicely with that other tradition to which Beyer and a few fellow Alsacienne are among the world’s only remaining adherents, namely late release – often after years in bottle. Imported by Aveniu (A.V.) Brands, Baltimore, MD; tel. (410) 884-9463