Does Gewurztraminer Age?

I've definitely thought that a few Gewürztraminers I've had were going thru a dumb stage. In a couple of cases at least I know I was right, as I tasted later and they had come out. Now as to how to predict.........

Let's don't forget that Gewürztraminer is a somewhat low-acid grape.Therefore, in general,they will not live as long as Rieslings. Excluding late-harvest, I think most Gwrz on the drier end as drink as soon a s possible. But Weinbach, along with Burn and Trimbach, would be ones to try and age. But the Personelle is the more basic Gewürztraminer (or am I confused?) , so usually less ageable.......

Confusing, huh? Most under $25 Gewürztraminers are meant for immediate consumption. I'd say hold this for a few years if you want. But I doubt it will develop to the extent of upper-level bottlings. Actually, if I wanted to try and age an under $20 Gewürztraminer, I've probably choose the Trimbach basic from an acidic year such as 1996, 1998, or 2000 (I haven't had enough 2001 Alsaces to form opinion).

Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

Yeah, the whole Dumb Stage thing is tough to grasp, let alone predict. I thought that with so much going on in Alsacian Gewürztraminers that there might be a point where something in there drops out of balance for a bit. I suppose only time will tell though...

The Reserve Personnelle is the basic line indeed, as I did see Cuvees Theo and Laurence priced accordingly. This is my first bottle of Weinbach purchased with the only prior experience being a '98 Gewürztraminer Furstentum (SGN?) at Restaurant Arpege that blew me away.

I thought that maybe somebody may have some experience on whether or not Domaine Weinbach might age more gracefully then some other producers for example.

I will look for some of those Trimbachs just for experimentings sake.

Thanks for the imput, jason

Also Ostertag, lieu-dit Fronholz. That is not very dry though.

Don´t forget the Grand Cru off-dry Gwz. While certainly not age-less, a GC Gwz may develop for upwards of ten years, if from a good producer. We had several bottles of GC Eichberg from Leon Sorg, who is an honest but not superb producer (his brother Bruno is better); they were very enjoyable 2001-02, and had definitely evolved (there is a [TN] I posted back then). In an ideal world, a wine from a GC vineyard should have greater staying power - it certainly appeared to be the case here.

Cheers

Nils Gustaf

FWIW, last year I enjoyed a taste of the 1967 Associated Vintners Gewurztraminer at the winery's (now Columbia Winery) 40th anniversary celebration. It was a beautifully expressive and fruity wine, and I was pleasantly surprised at how well it happened to hold up over the decades.

Andy Perdue, editor Wine Press Northwest