Pinot gris is the perfect fall white wine. Not grigio, the taut, tart Italian rendition of this capricious grape variety, but gris — picked when fully ripe so the wines become redolent of Bosc pears and Golden Delicious
apples, with a honeysuckle-tinged bouquet and a rich, mellow finish.
Alsace in northeastern France sets the stylistic standard for pinot gris, but good examples come these days from many parts of the winemaking world, including Austria, Germany, New Zealand, British Columbia, California and Oregon. This is the season to try them.
As its name suggests, gris belongs to the pinot family, its siblings being noir and blanc; all three share the same DNA. The pinots rank among the oldest cultivated vines in the world. As such, they are prone to mutation, with a vineyard of one often containing some of the others.
Although this mutability makes it difficult for growers to maintain desirable traits in their vines, it also enables those vines to adapt to local growing conditions. In turn, that adaptation helps explain why this grape variety yields wines in a remarkably wide range of styles.
Wines made from more stable grapes will cover a narrower range. Take chardonnay as an example. Pick it early, and the wine will taste harsh and shrill. Pick it late, and the wine will be fat and flabby. Though vines planted in cool locales will yield crisper wines, varietal chardonnay character usually outweighs regional typicity. That constancy helps explain why chardonnay has become so popular. You basically know what you’ll get.
With pinot gris, however, early-harvested grapes can result in angular, racy wines, and late-harvested ones can produce succulent, honeyed wines. Moreover, the wines clearly reflect their geographic origins, with Alsatian examples tasting far different from California or New Zealand renditions. This diversity may make choosing wines a bit more difficult, but it also can make drinking them more fun.
Wines called pinot grigio almost always come in a light but tight style, while wines sporting the designations “vendages tardive” or “selections de grains nobles” will be quite sweet. By contrast, most wines simply labeled as pinot gris (or, confusingly in Alsace, sometimes as “tokay” pinot gris) will be dry but richly fruited. These are the autumnal versions. They taste of the season — what the poet John Keats described as “mellow fruitfulness,” fall being a “close bosom-friend of the maturing sun.”
This style of pinot gris is richly fruited. A fine alternative to chardonnay, it offers heft and body from the grapes themselves rather than from oak barrels. Its flavors resemble ripe, almost overripe, fall fruits with a musky undertone (much as in apple or pear cider). Extremely versatile at the supper table, pinot gris pairs well with poultry and white meats, and it is one of the few wines that can complement spicy fare, whether Asian- or Southwestern-influenced.
Alsace is the one place in the world where pinot gris long has been treated as a star, not a secondary player. Not surprisingly, top producers there continue to set an international standard for quality. However, because this grape is so mutable, good wines from elsewhere tend to taste individualistic rather than derivative. It may be too early in the varietal’s global travels to be able to define an Oregon or New Zealand style with any precision, but the wines coming from those and other viticultural outposts can be distinctive.
The following 15 are the best of the nearly 50 pinot gris wines I tasted over the past month. Prices are approximate, and the wines are listed in rough order of preference. To quote Keats once more, these wines are filled “with ripeness to the core.”
ALSACE
Albert Boxler, Tokay Pinot Gris, Grand Cru Brand, 2002, $66: Yes, this wine is expensive, but it’s also stunning, with remarkable depth, complexity and a finish that lingers effortlessly for minutes. So rich as to seem sweet, its structure is firm and its balance impeccable. Most grand cru white Burgundies are nowhere near as exciting.
Adam, Tokay Pinot Gris, Letzenberg, 2001, $29: Over the past few years, the wines from Maison Adam seem to have become significantly more complex and nuanced. This rich, silky-textured example tastes of pears, apples and sweet spice, with a long, satisfying finish.
Rene Mure, Pinot Gris, Cote de Rouffach, 2002, $20: A mineral-tinged bouquet adds complexity to this juicy-pear-flavored pinot gris. It impresses most because of its balance and depth of flavor.
Riefle, Pinot Gris, Grand Cru Steinert, 2001, $33: Smoky notes combine with floral and fresh pear aromas to introduce this harmonious, satiny, fruit-filled wine.
Domaine Ehrhart, Pinot Gris, Grand Cru Brand, 2001, $27: Lighter than some other top examples, this pinot gris nonetheless exhibits excellent balance and full, bright flavor.
Trimbach, Pinot Gris Reserve, 2001, $21: From one of Alsace’s most admired producers, this wine displays the same sort of firm structure and clean character that distinguishes Trimbach’s Rieslings, the wines for which the firm is best-known.
Adam, Tokay Pinot Gris Reserve, 2003, $18: A good value from a warm vintage, this wine tastes rich and ripe, though not as nuanced as some others.
Heimberger, Tokay Pinot Gris Reserve Particuliere, 2002, $16: Especially expressive in its bouquet, this white-peach- and pear-scented wine tastes delicious even though it is not particularly long or evolved.
Pierre Sparr, Pinot Gris Reserve, 2002, $17: Wines from Sparr often offer good value but taste somewhat simple. This one is delightfully complex, with layers of honeyed pear and spiced apple flavors.
Rene Mure, Pinot Gris Tradition, 2002, $15: This basic bottling provides a fine introduction to the glories of Alsatian pinot gris at an attractive price.
ELSEWHERE
Tori Mor, Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley, 2003, $15: This expressive wine from Oregon tastes bright and fresh, with a nutty undertone beneath focused fresh fruit flavors.
Grove Mill, Pinot Gris, Marlborough, 2002, $20: A slightly smoky note in an otherwise floral bouquet introduces this New Zealand rendition, with fruit flavors reminiscent of crisp apples and sweet pears.
MacMurray Ranch, Pinot Gris, Russian River Valley, 2001, $18: Part of the Gallo empire, MacMurray Ranch used to belong to actor Fred MacMurray. It is home to some fine California wines. This one, though a bit muted aromatically, offers waves of peach, pear and apple flavors.
King Estate, Pinot Gris, Oregon, 2002, $17: King Estate consistently makes bright, fresh, fine-value pinot gris. This wine is another in what has become a long series of impressive Oregon wines.
Taz, Pinot Gris, Santa Barbara County, 2002, $15: Rich, ripe fruit flavors are supported in this wine by notes of toasty oak. With time in the glass, the wood notes harmonize and become well-integrated with the fruit.
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