Luminous golden-tinged straw-yellow. Very refined yet intense aromas and flavors of sweet spices, lemon curd, and smoke. Classy, archetypal Gewürz, with an extremely long and silky yet vibrant finish. The violet note is typical of the Furstentum; the vieilles vignes moniker refers to the fact that these vines are at least 45 years old. This is another big Gewürz but still comes across as relatively light on its feet (13.5% alcohol, 32 g/L r.s. and 4.5 g/L total acidity; curiously, the last two numbers are identical to those of the 2016 Furstentum Vieilles Vignes). The Furstentum is a magical site for Gewürz.
Score: 94+ points -- Ian D'Agata, Vinous, 2019
***
Albert Mann is a very progressive, organically-run domaine that ranks among the very top of Alsace producers. Since 1984, it has been run by Jacky and Maurice Barthelmé, the latter being married to Marie-Claire, granddaughter of the late Albert Mann. The family farms land on Grands Crus Hengst (Wintzenheim) and Steingrubler (Wettolsheim) and in all, the domaine covers 19 hectares in as many as 8 communes. The family also has close family ties with the owners of Paul Blanck in Kientzheim and as a result they also farm on the two fabled Grands Crus of Kientzheim and Furstentum and Schlossberg. The hallmark of the estate's wine style is power with full respect for the terroir. They work with high ecological ambitions, prune hard and harvest very low yields. No chemicals are used in the vineyards. The overall result is complex wines with superior balance and outstanding cellaring potential.
-- josephbarneswines.com
