Domaine Emile Beyer Tradition Gewurztraminer 2018
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Winemaker Notes
This wine offers floral and spicy aromas, with notes of lychee, nuts and rose petals. The palate is ample with a refreshing finish. Gewürztraminer is perhaps the signature wine of Alsace, for it is here that it reaches the highest expression of its unique lively and spicy character.
Vinified in stainless steel for maximum fruit and freshness, Emile Beyer Gewürztraminer “Tradition” is enjoyable with rich patés, foie gras preparations and strong cheeses, and pairs particularly well with spicy Asian cuisine.
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Wine & Spirits
Based in Eguisheim, Christian Beyer blends this wine from estate-grown grapes as well as purchased fruit. This was a panel favorite, and though it didn’t stand out to this critic, the panelists’ enthusiasm was pretty convincing, especially when they started bringing up foods to match its sweet dark-toned plum and muscat-spice flavors. One panelist compared it to blueberry honey and suggested a pairing with roast salmon. Another took its dark fruit toward gamey venison sausage or duck prosciutto…speck…jamón Ibérico…So, I went back to it the next day and the wine had entered another dimension, the tannins acting like crushed stone, tightening around the sweet fruit, keeping it refreshing and crunchy as its volume continued to expand.
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of ripe, yellow pear are distinct on the nose of this wine. They become even more expressive on the rounded palate where lovely phenolic bitterness lends direction and drive alongside bright freshness. The finish is long and off dry.
Other Vintages
2017-
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Gewürztraminer, an expressive and aromatically distinctive white grape variety, is considered a noble variety in the Alsace region of France, and produces wonderful wines in the mountainous Alto Adige region of NE Italy. Generally this grape grows well in cooler regions and its natural intensity makes it a great ally for flavorful cuisine such as Indian, Middle Eastern or Moroccan. Somm Secret—Because of a charming perfume and tendency towards slight sweetness, Gewürztraminer makes for an excellent gateway wine for those who love sweet wines but want to venture into the realm of drier whites.
With its fairytale aesthetic, Germanic influence and strong emphasis on white wines, Alsace is one of France’s most unique viticultural regions. This hotly contested stretch of land running north to south on France’s northeastern border has spent much of its existence as German territory. Nestled in the rain shadow of the Vosges mountains, it is one of the driest regions of France but enjoys a long and cool growing season. Autumn humidity facilitates the development of “noble rot” for the production of late-picked sweet wines, Vendange Tardive and Sélection de Grains Nobles.
The best wines of Alsace can be described as aromatic and honeyed, even when completely dry. The region’s “noble” varieties, the only ones permitted within Alsace’s 51 Grands Crus vineyards, are Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Muscat, and Pinot Gris.
Riesling is Alsace’s main specialty. In its youth, Alsace Riesling is dry, fresh and floral, but develops complex mineral and flint character with age. Gewurztraminer is known for its signature spice and lychee aromatics, and is often utilized for late harvest wines. Pinot Gris is prized for its combination of crisp acidity and savory spice as well as ripe stone fruit flavors. Muscat, vinified dry, tastes of ripe green grapes and fresh rose petal.
Other varieties grown here include Pinot Blanc, Auxerrois, Chasselas, Sylvaner and Pinot Noir—the only red grape permitted in Alsace and mainly used for sparkling rosé known as Crémant d’Alsace. Most Alsace wines are single-varietal bottlings and unlike other French regions, are also labeled with the variety name.