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2022 Charles Baur Sylvaner Alsace

2022 Charles Baur Sylvaner Alsace

92JS
90VN
$12.99

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92

James Suckling

Reviewed February 2024
At once concentrated and elegant, this is an excellent dry silvaner that really shows what this grape can do when it reaches a good ripeness without losing too much acidity. Striking aromas of passion fruit and rose hips with notes of wild herbs. Beautifully integrated tannins drive the long finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

Professional Reviews

90

Vinous

Review Date: 04/2024
The 2022 Sylvaner Vieilles Vignes is picked in the lieu-dit of Vordere Sundgasse, on clay and limestone, from vines planted in 1982, vinified in foudre. Golden apple, a touch of straw and some lemon make for an unusually fragrant Sylvaner. The palate is wonderfully concentrated yet light and absolutely clean-cut. (Bone-Dry) Arnaud Baur says he was “grateful to have 2022 after 2021. It was much easier, much drier, much sunnier, with balanced rain.” He, of course, speaks as a grower from Eguisheim, which was particularly hard hit by 2021 and benefited from its calcareous loam and limestone soils in dry 2022. “We even managed to make a late-harvest Riesling in Brand Grand Cru and a Sélection de Grains Nobles of Pinot Gris,” he says. Baur particularly appreciates the “concentration” in this sunny, dry year. He notes that “there was a little dry stress in 2022, but nothing comparable to 2023. The climate is changing, we will have more and more of this stress. But you have to prepare in January. You must prune very short, accept that you will have low yields and then you will have good quality.” Indeed, none of his 2022 whites taste like they are from an opulent vintage.(AK)

Notes

92pts Ian d'Agata Terroir Sense: "Vivid pale straw-green. Aromas and flavours of green apple, pear, quince and lemongrass. Light and lively on the brisk fresh finish that is classically dry (only 2 g/L r.s.) and features an enticing mineral sheen. Not the most concentrated white wine you’ll ever drink, but very pure and precise, not to mention downright charming in its easygoing fruitiness and juiciness that make you want to empty your glass in one gulp. These Sylvaner vines were planted in 1982 in the Vordere Sundgasse lieu-dit. Arnaud Baur rightly believes that Sylvaner has been unfairly treated by Alsace law over the last fifty years and that it has also been a victim of fashions and fads: he is determined to bring it back to the fore and highlight its charms and merits. This 2022 Vieilles Vignes is a step in the right direction to attain those goals. Made from a crop of 60 hL/ha which is very low for Sylvaner (in Alsace it normally gets cropped at 120 hL/ha); I think this is excellent as is, but if Arnaud can ever bring himself to knock down another 20 hL/ha (which is easier said than done because Sylvaner wines do not fetch a high enough price to justify the extra cost of much lower yields than those) this wine will be truly something to marvel at. It’s already excellent. Drinking window: 2023-2030." (10/2023)

Details

TypeWhite Wine
OriginAlsace, France
Bottle Size750 mL
SKU1723381