Albert Boxler : Riesling Grand cru Sommerberg 2024

Tasting notes and tips for Albert Boxler’s Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg 2024

Tasting

Appearance

This Riesling displays a pale yellow hue with golden highlights, revealing brightness and clarity.

Nose

The nose reveals elegant, expressive aromas of lemon, grapefruit and white peach, accompanied by floral notes of white blossoms and honeysuckle. A pronounced minerality, characteristic of the granitic terroir, completes this aromatic bouquet.

Palate

The attack is lively and taut, driven by a precise, finely chiseled acidity that brings energy and vitality. The mid-palate shows beautiful concentration with ripe fruit expression, a saline quality and a piercing minerality reflecting the Sommerberg’s granitic soils. The finish lingers long, remaining fresh and vibrant, with a subtle bitterness that extends the tasting experience.

Food and wine pairings

This Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg 2024 pairs perfectly with grilled fish, seafood, quality sushi and sashimi, or moules marinières. It also elegantly complements Asian dishes featuring seafood or vegetables, as well as Alsatian specialties such as choucroute garnie, tarte flambée or coq au riesling. Aged goat cheeses and semi-aged Comté also make excellent pairings.

Serving and cellaring

The Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg 2024 can be enjoyed now and offers fine aging potential, allowing it to develop greater complexity over the years.

A crystalline-precision Alsace Grand Cru Riesling by Albert Boxler

The estate

Domaine Albert Boxler, whose winegrowing roots date back to 1672, was established in 1946 when Albert Boxler decided to market his wines in bottle. Located in Niedermorschwihr in the Haut-Rhin, this family estate is now run by Jean Boxler, the founder’s grandson, who took the reins in 1996 alongside his wife Sylvie. Recognized among France’s finest winegrowers, Jean Boxler embraces a minimalist winemaking philosophy that favors the pure expression of terroir. The estate has practiced organic farming since 2003 and produces outstanding Rieslings primarily from the Sommerberg and Brand Grands Crus.

The vineyard

The Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg 2024 comes from parcels located on the steep slopes of the Grand Cru Sommerberg, with an incline of around 45 degrees, at elevations between 300 and 400 meters. The vines, averaging 60 years of age, are rooted in highly decomposed two-mica granite soils, creating sandy, mineral-rich arenas. The south and southeast exposure of this terroir, literally translated as “hill of the sun,” encourages slow, extended ripening. The estate farms around four hectares within this Grand Cru in Alsace, worked by hand with deliberately limited yields of between 30 and 35 hectoliters per hectare.

The vintage

The 2024 vintage in Alsace offered excellent conditions, with grapes of great sanitary purity. The juices revealed a fine balance with lovely aromatic intensity, freshness and well-defined acidity, while also showing remarkable elegance and finesse. The mineral imprint characteristic of the Sommerberg’s granitic soils came through with particular clarity, giving the wines vibrancy and energy.

Winemaking and aging

The grapes for the Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg 2024 are harvested exclusively by hand, then gently pressed for around six hours. Fermentation occurs naturally thanks to indigenous yeasts, in century-old foudres or stainless-steel tanks. The wine then rests on fine lees for an extended period, without bâtonnage, in order to preserve its transparency and naturally develop its aromatic complexity. Additional bottle aging of one to two years precedes release, allowing the components to integrate harmoniously.

Grape variety

100% Riesling