Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio

Jim Jerram is the leading pioneer of the developing Waitaki Valley viticultural region. His Ostler label is based in the hamlet of Kurow (where Richie McCaw played his first rugby) and has developed a fine reputation for Pinot Noir and aromatic whites. The name comes from Jim’s great-grandfather, William Ostler, who came from Yorkshire to this area in the 1850s. The Waitaki climate is cooler than Central Otago, thanks to afternoon easterly breezes sucked in from the coast, however the ripening season is longer and lower frost risks.

Showing lightly caramelised red apples and pears on the nose this richly bodied Pinot Gris delivers a delightful blend of spices on the palate. Gingerbread, cinnamon and rose petal dance on the tongue accompanied by green fruit and a hint of lychee. These flavours and its generous texture make it a perfect match for pan-fried scallops or Munster cheese.

Rolly Gassmann is located in Rorschwihr, a sleepy village on the northern rim of Haut-Rhin. Louis and Marie-Thérèse have no wines from Grand Cru sites, but from a set of very good lieux-dits such as Silberberg, Muenchreben and Rotleibel. The vineyards are located in Rorschwihr, the neighbouring Rodern and Bergheim, and exhibit large geological differences.

Rolly Gassmann has a unique style. Each wine is a small masterpiece with very good definition and a certain shameless, velvety texture. The fruit is honeyed but balanced with a precise acidity which defies its age. Rotleibel has a heavier, heat-retentive red marl soil, perfect for late-season harvesting.

Made from 100 percent Pinot Grigio, fermentation starts in stainless steel tanks but is run off and finished in 500-litre French oak. With 11 months’ ageing on the lees, this is no ordinary Pinot Grigio. The weight and matter on the attack and mid-palate give depth and length to this finely textured wine that ages deceptively well, though the fruit is lighter and the acidity is fresher in the 2014.
Drink 2016-2022.

Rubbing shoulders with Heimbourg  and overlooking Turckheim, this small but steep, west/northwest- facing, red calcareous vineyard tends to give fruit blessed with fine acidity. This was particularly welcome in the super ripe 2005 vintage, when the tiny, berry by berry, 8hl/ha harvest was especially late and strung-out, giving 280 grams of residual sugar and only eight percent alcohol.

Consequently the wine's disarmingly succulent, toast, honey, barley sugar and peach flavours are perfectly balanced by an extra gear of freshness and mouth-watering acidity. This is decadent and delicate all in one.

Drawing on fruit from both the (red-earth) Rotleibel and the fossilised limestone clay bed of the Pflaenzerreben, there's a sublime citronelle perfume, an energy that recalls the latter site, that speaks volumes for the quality of the Rorschwihr terroir. It's deliciously fine and agile. The 119 grams of residual sugar are balanced out by 5.7 of acidity, the smooth fruit so suave, a warm flow, yet finishes with pretty coquilles acidity and zip. Great. Medium-dry.
David Berry Green

Deep gold colour. A sumptuous nose with spicy, musky, exotic fruit notes. Hints of sweetness. On the palate a sense of layers of flavour and texture, embracing flavours of orange peel, mandarin, tangerine, spice, truffle and forest undergrowth. Huge length on the finish, soft acidity and some residual sugar, but not sweet and retaining the traditional smoky, unctuous character of Pinot Gris. Would be brilliant as a food pairing with foie gras or maybe crab.

Showing a harmonious combination of smoke and flint flavours with hints of white fruit on the nose, the 2007 Pinot Gris Rangen is delectably balanced. This intricate wine inundates the palate with flavours of peaches, honey and poached pears. Sweetness shines through on the palate, but thanks to its vibrant acidity, it blends in very quickly. Pinot Gris Rangen should evolve and drink well for 15 years.

Selection des Grains Nobles are rare due to a bunch by bunch harvest selection and minimum sugar levels. This is one step up from Vendange Tardive and offers one richness, concentration and gloriously sweet fruit flavours. Full bodied, hugely mouth-filling and thick with outstanding, complex ripe fruits and maple syrup characteristics.
Laura Atkinson-Godwin, Private Account Manager


Clos Jebsal is a single vineyard in Turkheim (1.3 ha), Alsace. The first written reference of Jebsal dates back to a deed of sale from the 16th century. Located on a steep escarpment, it was left abandoned until 1982 when Leonard Humbrecht finally managed to reunite all the small parcels and restore the lieu-dit to its entirety. The name Jebsal refers to gypsum, the important geological component of this vineyard alongside a geological fault of grey marl limestone and Keuper, rich in clay. The small clos is very steep (50%) with numerous terraces facing due south which benefits from a very warm microclimate, hidden and protected from the northerly winds. The grey marl soils have good water retention capacity which prevents hydric stress, yielding wines with beautiful balanced acidities.

Wines from Clos Jebsal are discreet in their youth, often marked with flinty or smoky aromas. The expression of fruit linked to the concentration by botrytis is coaxed out with some time in bottle, a minimum of ten years is recommended to allow for the development of the true expression of Clos Jebsal.

Wow – there is a lot going on here! Mirabelle plum, blood orange, yuzu and a waxy, nut oil note on the nose. This is broad and structured, yet not as heady as Pinot Gris can be, there is a real sense of precision here amidst the weight of the wine. Only produced when the Trimbach family are happy it has the quality to merit the Reserve Personelle label, this was the stand out wine of the tasting for me. If you can resist the temptation, give this a couple of years in the cellar and then enjoy over the following decade. Simply put, the best Pinot Gris I have ever tasted and extraordinary value to boot. Wonderful.
Fergus Stewart, Private Account Manager

The Trimbach family is one of France’s greatest winemaking dynasties, having made wine in Alsace for over three centuries (since 1626) based in the picturesque town of Ribeauvillé.

If Zind Humbrecht produces wines of extravagant power at one end of the spectrum of excellence within Alsace wine making, then Trimbach definitely stands at the other extreme – “Restraint” is the watchword.  The Trimbach style is paraphrased perfectly by Hubert Trimbach and the family itself – “Concentrated not heavy; fruity, not sweet; bracing rather than fat; polite rather than voluptuous. Trimbach wines are reserved, steely, elegant, even aristocratic; never obvious or flashy.  We are Protestants.  Our wines have the Protestant style – vigour, firmness, a beautiful acidity, lovely freshness. Purity and cleanness, that’s Trimbach.” For those weary of the copious residual sugar found in so many of the contemporary Alsace wines, Trimbach’s are a refuge.

As the family moves into its 13th generation, with Pierre’s daughter Anne now working in the business (& Jean’s son Julian studying vine science at Dijon), Maison Trimbach remains a byword for fine dry Alsace Riesling. 

Famously controversial for opting out of the Grand Cru classification back in 1975 on account of the overly generous yields & low sugar levels (low quality) required, in the past five years the negociant has added 15 hectares of prime Grand Cru sites, notably in Osterberg, Geisberg, & Schlossberg, bringing their total to 45ha.  So the family are clearly not closing the door on the possibility of releasing single Grand Cru vineyard wines, albeit in tiny quantities. However they lament the fact that France’s supermarkets continue to buy up 75% of the region’s production, selling Grand Cru wines at around €7/bottle on the shelf.

Meanwhile their brands of (Riesling) Cuvee Frederic Emile, (Pinot Gris) Reserve Personnelle & (Gewurztraminer) Cuvee des Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre remain central  to the range, made from both own fruit & bought in fruit; they remain a clear step up in terroir finesse from the fruitier ‘Reserve’ lines.  Clos Ste. Hune is estate’s finest Riesling, from a 1.67ha ‘clos’ within Grand Cru Rosacker; the provenance readily communicated but still absent from the label.  So as winemaker Pierre Trimbach signs off his 34th vintage in charge, this is still very much an estate to watch.

These wines are considered the benchmark for quality, consistency and style.