2006 Albert Mann Altenbourg Riesling Vendanges Tardives Alsace (500ml)

The sole “late-harvested” Albert Mann wine of its vintage, their 2006 Riesling Altenbourg Vendange Tardive – with only 12% alcohol and more than 50 grams of residual sugar – was still picked before the end of September. This wine’s ripe, vanilla-tinged peach; its creaminess of texture; its subtle integration of citrus into an enveloping, rich, sweet matrix; and its saliva-inducing salinity all put me a bit in mind of a Marcobrunn Auslese from the Rheingau. A pure, refined, gloriously buoyant Riesling, it should, I suspect, keep well for at least 15 years, although – as a precaution – I would not lose any botrytis wine of its vintage in the cellar for more than a few years without checking in on a bottle. (DS)