Novembre / Décembre 2010

Domaine Meyer-Fonne, Katzenthal

By Stephen Tanzer

Also recommended: 2009 Pinot Blanc Vieilles Vignes (85), 2009 Riesling Reserve (86). 
Other wines tasted: 2009 Gentil. (Kermit
Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA)

2009 Domaine Meyer Fonne Muscat Vignoble de Katzenthal
87

($20) Pale bright yellow. Lime peel and mint on the aromatic nose, with hints of spring flowers and wild herbs. Fairly dense and dry, with some CO2 spritz. Ultimately rather soft and open, with a bit of warmth on the back end.

2009 Domaine Meyer Fonne Gewurztraminer Reserve
87

($25) Pale yellow-gold. Red berries, cured meat, mace and bergamot on the nose, with spices and lichee emerging with aeration: very gewurz! Then sweet, spicy and soft on the palate, relying for shape more on its unabsorbed CO2 than on its acidity. Could use more nuance for its sweetness (29 g/l r.s.) but manages its alcohol fairly well.

2009 Domaine Meyer Fonne Gewurztraminer Dorfburg Vieilles Vignes
88

Yellow-gold. Lemon drop, lichee, floral oils and sexy brown spices on the nose. Tactile, chewy and exotic, with some unabsorbed CO2 perking up the fat, rich, strongly spicy middle palate. Turns a bit dry with alcohol on the back end, finishing with a light saline quality and a citrus note.
Tastes drier than the Reserve but this actually has higher r.s., at 33 grams per liter.

2009 Domaine Meyer Fonne Gewurztraminer Furstentum Vieilles Vignes
92

Full gold. Classic gew urztraminer perfume of spiced peach, lemon drop, cured meat and brown spices. Lush, spicy, sweet and harmonious, with the tactile mid-palate texture to support its substantial alcohol. This big, rich, powerful, very sweet (66 g/l r.s.) gewurztraminer manages to maintain its balance and finishes with terrific spicy persistence and lift for 2009. An impressive showing.

2009 Domaine Meyer Fonne Gewurztraminer Wineck-Schlossberg
90

Medium gold. Expressive aromas of rose oil, smoked meat, cinnamon and mace. Fat, spicy and sweet; not especially complex but boasts good shape and life and holds its alcohol well. The strong brown spice flavors and some unabsorbed CO2 keep the wine fresh. Still, the heat of the growing season shows on the slightly warm but persistent back end.

2008 Domaine Meyer Fonne Muscat Vignoble de Katzenthal
87(+?)

($23) Pale, bright yellow. Delicate, subdued aromas of underripe pineapple, flowers and peppermint, with a suggestion of tropical fruits. Gives a very dry palate impression in spite of its 6 g/l r.s. owing to brisk acidity; completely different in style from the softer, sweeter 2009. This will offer more intellectual than sensory appeal owing to its dryness and impression of firm acidity. I'd give it a year in the bottle.

2008 Domaine Meyer Fonne Pinot Blanc Vieilles Vignes
88

($18) Gold-tinged yellow. Peach and yellow flowers on the nose, complicated by butter, honey and vanilla. The palate offers underripe stone fruit and citrus flavors intensified by firm framing acidity, which gives the wine penetration and cut. Dry (2 g/l r.s.), distinctly serious pinot blanc.

Compare Price

2008 Domaine Meyer Fonne Riesling Reserve
87

($22) Full yellow. Very ripe aromas of yellow peach, ginger and stony minerality, plus a whiff of earth. Concentrated and thick but quite dry, even a bit youthfully hard-edged, with hints of exotic fruits and petrol. A streak of acidity (8.6 grams per liter) runs through the wine today, giving the finish a dry edge. Still, I wanted a bit more clarity.

2008 Domaine Meyer Fonne Riesling Vignoble de Katzenthal
89

($28) Full medium yellow. Musky pineapple and apricot dominate the rather exotic nose. Rich and large-scaled, with nicely integrated acidity giving focus and clarity to the wine's opulent peach and brown spice flavors. This boasts excellent palate presence, finishing silky and thick but with good grip. Here the wine's 8.4 grams of acidity are in harmony with the wine's fruit and light sweetness (7 g/l r.s.).

2008 Domaine Meyer Fonne Riesling Pfoeller
88(+?)?

($37) Full yellow with a gold tinge. Very ripe, sexy aromas of apricot, pineapple, white flowers and smoky minerality. Lush and slightly sweet, but with powerful acidity giving the back end a very dry impression. A bit youthfully disjointed today: rich and exotic in the mid-palate for this cuvee but quite firm, even youthfully bitter, on the aftertaste. Give this a couple years to harmonize.

2008 Domaine Meyer Fonne Riesling Kaefferkopf
91+

($45) Full deep yellow with gold highlights. Exotic aromas of candied lemon peel, cinnamon-soaked apple, medicinal herbs and linden tea. Broad, dense and ripe, but with racy acidity giving verve to the silky mid-palate and drawing out the back end. Combines enticing yellow fruits with musky soil tones. This long, tactile grand cru riesling will require several years of aging for its brisk acidity and sweet fruit to come into harmony.

Compare Price

2008 Domaine Meyer Fonne Riesling Schoenenbourg

91

($40) Gold-tinged full yellow. Deeply pitched aromas of marzipan, honey, earth and menthol are lifted by a high-toned violet element. Fat, broad and slightly sweet (3 g/l r.s.); gentler and less penetrating today than the Kaefferkopf, with suave acidity already nicely integrated. This comes across as less dense than the Kaefferkopf, but I suspect that's simply a function of the wine's supple texture. Finishes with a light touch.

2008 Domaine Meyer Fonne Riesling Wineck-Schlossberg
92

($40) Gold-tinged deep yellow. Captivating aromas of grapefruit pith, anise, white pepper and juniper berry. Open and moderately sweet in the middle palate, with firm but harmonious acidity giving the wine good life. Finishes with a youthfully aggressive chewy quality, but there's enough dusty extract and brisk mineral and tea leaf flavors to buffer the wine's early sweetness.

2008 Domaine Meyer Fonne Pinot Gris Reserve
87

($26) Full yellow-gold. Apricot, honey and exotic herbs on the nose, complicated by hints of smoke and flint. Sweet, fat and nicely concentrated but a bit simple, offering good spice character and a liqueur-like exotic fruit quality. Finishes dense, saline and spicy, with a faint dry edge. Plenty of material here, but I find this pinot gris a bit overbearing today, even though it possesses solid acidity.

2008 Domaine Meyer Fonne Pinot Gris Dorfburg
90

($33) Golden-yellow. Honey and apricot aromas are lifted by white pepper, crushed stone and violet. Concentrated, thick and harmonious, with a slightly candied sweetness, but nicely integrated acidity gives focus to the middle palate and prevents the wine from coming off as blowsy. Finishes with the thrust that's characteristic of so many wines from this vintage.

2008 Domaine Meyer Fonne Pinot Gris Hinterburg de Katzenthal
91

($37) Medium yellow-gold. Fruitier on the nose than the Dorfburg, showing slightly exotic mango and pineapple aromas complemented by a whiff of spice Very sweet and honeyed on entry, then plush and spicy in the middle but with strong acidity giving this very rich wine a youthfully aggressive quality. Finishes very long and sweet, with real flavor authority. The Dorfburg seems almost dry by comparison.

2008 Domaine Meyer Fonne Gewurztraminer Reserve
89

($25) Deep golden yellow. Sexy stone fruits, chamomile and spices on the nose. An outsized fruit and honey bomb on the palate, filling the mouth with flavor but retaining good shape. Finishes long and dusty, with a slightly phenolic edge that gives the wine a much-needed firmness.

2008 Domaine Meyer Fonne Gewurztraminer Dorfburg Vieilles Vignes
90

($40) Golden yellow. Aromas of orange, apricot, honey, wild herbs, spices and earth. Thick and powerful on entry, then harmonious and fresh in the middle, with brisk acidity accentuating the purity of the apricot, peach and spice flavors. Finishes with a phenolic edge but has the intensity of fruit to support it. The lively acidity gives this wine sneaky persistence and nicely buffers the 29 grams of residual sugar.

2008 Domaine Meyer Fonne Gewurztraminer Kaefferkopf
89(+?)

($41) Deep yellow with gold highlights. Exotic aromas of apricot, clove and menthol, plus a suggestion of red berries. Dense, dusty and slightly bitter-edged, making a distinctly drier and less fruity impression than the Dorfburg. The slightly aggressive finish shows the tannins of the variety. This youthfully assertive wine will need at least a few years of patience.

2008 Domaine Meyer Fonne Gewurztraminer Furstentum Vieilles Vignes
90?

($43) Deep golden-yellow. Fresh but subdued aromas of ripe peach and orange; not yet showing the treble floral and spice notes of the variety. Quite tight in the mouth, giving a drier, less expansive impression than the 2009 version, with its spine of acidity currently dominating. Locked up tight at present: will this develop more flavor? Today, this can't touch the wonderfully suave and silky 2007 version.

2008 Domaine Meyer Fonne Gewurztraminer Sporen Vieilles Vignes
92

($45) Bright medium gold. Flamboyant aromas of fresh apricot, honey, caraway seed and botanical herbs, with an earthy element contributing complexity. Fat, sweet and chewy with material. Quite glyceral in the mouth but with no shortage of acidity. A strongly soil-driven gewurztraminer, showing more flowers and spices today than primary fruits. Finishes drier than the mid-palate would suggest, with a distinctly dusty quality. Serious wine.

2008 Domaine Meyer Fonne Gewurztraminer Wineck-Schlossberg
 92

($43) Bright medium gold. Very pure but subdued aromas of apricot, pineapple, spices and botanical herbs. Broad, sweet and moderately viscous, but with suave, harmonious acidity giving shape and lift to the stone fruit and brown spice flavors. Perhaps more opulent and exotic than usual for this wine but suave and nicely balanced-and long on the aftertaste. A slight youthful aggressiveness argues for some cellaring.

2008 Domaine Meyer Fonne Riesling Wineck-Schlossberg Le Samson (500 ml)
92

($38; for 500 ml.) Bright yellow-gold. Bright, deeply spicy nose offers jasmine, ginger, exotic peppery herbs and a nutty note. A penetrating spine of acidity gives a youthfully aggressive character to the yellow fruit flavors. Plenty of sweetness here but not especially glyceral, owing to the leavening effect of the wine's saline quality and strong minerality. Needs time in bottle to gain in refinement, like the regular 2008 version of this grand cru.

2009 Domaine Meyer Fonne Riesling Pfoeller Vendange Tardive
92

Bright yellow with gold highlights. Perfumed, come-hither aromas of ginger, orange blossom and ineffable spices. Very sweet, tactile and dusty with extract; shows an exotic apricot character but a distinctly juicy lightness to its botrytis element. Finishes fat and fruity, with much less of animpression of alcohol than the basic Pfoeller Riesling. A lovely 2009.

2008 Domaine Meyer Fonne Riesling Pfoeller Vendange Tardive
90(+?)

Medium gold. A bit stunted on the nose, offering hints of yellow raisin, licorice, menthol and petrol. Less fruity and more soil-driven than the 2009 version, but shut down today by its strong acidity (9 grams per liter). Not a particularly opulent style of VT in spite of its 96 g/l r.s., this wine will need extended bottle aging to come into harmony. The finish displays powerful cut.

2008 Domaine Meyer Fonne Pinot Gris Hinterburg de Katzenthal Vendanges Tardives
92

Bright yellow-gold. Exotic aromas of nectarine and brown spices. Silky, sweet and plush but with strong juicy acidity (9 g/l r.s.) countering the wine's exotic character. With its slightly earthy element, this seems a little less pristine than the basic version from this vineyard. More intense and more obviously structured but a bit less agreeable today and in need of patience.

2008 Domaine Meyer Fonne Gewurztraminer Wineck-Schlossberg Vieilles Vignes Vendanges Tardives
93

 Medium golden-bronze. Rather carnal aromas of dried apricot, peach, honey, lichee and spices. Sweet, thick and concentrated, but with surprising lift from harmonious acidity and some unabsorbed CO2 Not the last word in concentration but very pure, smooth and long, with strong stone fruit flavors on the aftertaste.