2011 Schoenenbourg

After shaking off some of its reduction, the Deiss 2011 Schoenenbourg displayed quince jelly and caramelized parsnip on the nose as well as on a rich and expansive palate. Juiciness of fresh apple and peach as well as the tart, piquant tang of their skins keep its sweetness from becoming overbearing, and there is impressive reach and persistence to its finish. But to properly assess any nuances will require another visit in 2014 or 2015 in the expectation that the wine’s reduction will by then have naturally waned. An expectation of high performance through 2025 does not, however, seem at all unrealistic. ”The vintage is not a reliable partner of the vintner,” declares Jean-Michel Deiss. “Rather, it is every year an obstacle. You have to bank on your terroir.” It’s certainly easy to understand such an attitude when confronted with two such dissimilarly tricky vintages as 2010 and 2011, in which Deiss also credits the stabilizing influence of his terroir and vine management in his having “harvested significantly more wine than my colleagues in 2010 and significantly less in 2011.” Apropos the faithlessness of the growing season and of vintage character, Deiss is wont to interject whenever I effuse over the scents emanating from one of his bottlings that aroma, too, is capricious and unfaithful. “I’m seeking to create wines for the mouth, not the nose” he says. Importer: Vintus, Pleasantville, NY; tel. (914) 769-3000