Alsace Riesling 2011 M&S Cave de Turkheim

Alsace Riesling 2011 made for  M&S by the Cave de Turkheim is a very well priced wine at £8.99, and on tasting it I was a little let down by its quality, it feels a little flat or lacking in concentration of flavours, it is dry with medium acidity, flavours of lemon, apple and a little minerality are apparent,  echoed from the aromas which again are not intense. The length is not long and has a dry finish.  Overall I feel deflated, this could have been a concentrated riesling with zing and polish, but maybe due to high yields or poor vineyard care or even lack of care in the making - this comes over as a generic wine with little to offer - what a shame. It is young - but will it gain in complexity - we will have to wait and see, maybe this could be its saviour.

Grand Cru Brand Pinot Gris Cave de Turkheim Alsace France 2008

Grand Cru Brand Pinot Gris 2008 is a wine made by Cave de Turkheim using the Pinot Gris grape which as expected is situated in Turkheim, a lovely village with some great restaurants and friendly people. We visited the Turkheim in October 2009 when they were just finishing the harvest and the smell of fermentation filled the air in many of the villages of the region.
Michel Lihrmann has been their senior winemaker for over 25 years and produces some high quality wines which are exported all over the world and have a good reputation. Grand Cru defines the vineyard (by local regualtion and is strictly defined and registered by law allied to production methods of the highest standards ) as having a very special “terroir” and the resulting wine should reflect the finest attributes of the grape variety Brand is such a vineyard.
The wine is pale gold and with quite intense aromas of cooked pears, caramel and honey with  overriding floral notes - it invites you to sip!
There is some sweetness to the wine, residual fruit sugar which implies honey but overall it is off dry, good acidic backbone balancing the alcohol which is well integrated ( 13.5%) and flavours of pear, cooked apple, tropical fruits with some sweet spice mixed in. The length is good, with a dry, clean finish.  Overall my thoughts on this wine are that it is a well made rich, crisp wine with a silky texture that works with many dishes from Thai, chicken and fruit puddings - Enjoy!
Supplied by Slurp at a price of £16.60, not bad value for such a beautiful wine.