2003 Riesling Grand Cru Pfersigberg, Bruno Sorg

Bruno Sorg introduced me to the notion of terroir in 2003, an episode that fueled my interest for Alsace. Over the years, I have shared more bottles with this wonderful, friendly and utterly skilled man than with any other vigneron in Alsace. But in mid-October 2013 Bruno Sorg left this world. He will be missed by many that have returned to his courtyard in Eguisheim for the wines that he, and since several years his son François, has offered lovers of Alsace wines.

2003 Riesling Grand Cru Pfersigberg from Bruno Sorg in Eguisheim is medium golden yellow with a green tint. The aroma is expressive, pure and sweet with wild flowers, peach, honey dew, pineapple, coffee beans and a whiff of petrol. The taste is fresh, vital and quite dry with a sense of chalky minerality in the perfectly balanced finish. A serious and charming wine from a very difficult vintage. Price (current vintage): €13.50.

2007 Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Pfersigberg, Odile Weber

Odile is an important name in Alsace since Sainte Odile is the patron saint of Alsace. She was born blind in 662 A.D., as the daughter of her cruel father Etichon, Duke of Alsace. During her time on earth she managed to bring back her brother from the dead, regain her own sight through prayers and make her father build a monastery in Hohwald close to Andlau, southwest of Strasbourg. Odile was canonized 1807.

2007 Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Pfersigberg 2007 by Odile Weber in Eguisheim offers a fresh nose with lilac, minerals, ripe stone fruits and honey. The taste is medium bodied and elegant with savoury fruit, supported by high acidity and a minerality typical of the terroir. Really good! Price: € 12.

2007 Riesling Grand Cru Pfersigberg, Bruno Sorg

Year after year, François Sorg, son of Bruno, puts out a range of pure, complex, lovely wines that are great illustrations of their terroir. The top-range Rieslings are made from Grand Cru Florimont in Ingersheim and Grand Cru Pfersigberg in Eguisheim. While the former defines purity and elegance, the latter defines complexity and minerality. However, they share the two most important features of any wine of quality - personality and balance.

2007 Riesling Grand Cru Pfersigberg from Bruno Sorg in Eguisheim offers complex, superb and deep aromas of grapefruit, rubber, coffee, ripe exotic fruits and - more importantly - the soils of Eguisheim just after rain. The taste has a trace of bitterness, loads of mature fruit and mouthwatering acidity, but most of all the structure and minerality are first class. A Riesling just like I want it. Price: €11.

2002 Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Pfersigberg, Charles Baur

Eguisheim has two excellent Grands Crus, Eichberg and in Pfersigberg, but it is the latter that provide the most focused wines. A Pfersigberg is never heavy or overblown, and should show discrete minerality and offers a fragrance of the red earth. Riesling and Gewurztraminer grapes are reference varieties, but Muscat fits at least as good, while Pinot Gris has not yet fully convinced on Pfersigberg.

2002 Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Pfersigberg has a mature, complex but above all fresh scent with cinnamon, ginger, citrus, honeysuckle and raspberries. The palate is focused and elegant with a trace of vanilla and banana, minerality and zesty acids. The finish is dry due to a pinch of the typical bitterness. A model wine that gives credit to both Pfersigberg and the local style of Eguisheim. Price: € 14.