Charles Schleret Muscat d'Alsace 2004 from Alsace in France

Charles Schleret  is based in the delightful village of Turckheim just west of Colmar on the river Fecht  and the Muscat d'Alsace 2004 is pale gold and has grapey aromas underpinned by elderflower and floral notes, on the mouth this is a dry wine with lively acidity which supports the fruit after a yeasty start, the fruit moves from apricot to ripe red apples and grape flavours interwoven, the finish is dry and stays soft, fresh and fruity to the end - which in a wine that is 8 years old was not expected! With age, a wine like this can take on waxy character and lose its fruit expression.
The wine is made from hand harvested grapes, picked when fully ripe, destemmed, pressed and vinified in an inert fermentation tank ( does not pick up any flavour or character from this), then filtered and bottled the following spring.
Yapp brothers £14.25

Domaine Josmeyer Pinot Blanc 2009 Alsace, France

Domaine Josmeyer was founded in 1854 by Aloyse Meyer, whose grandson Jean Meyer now manages the domaine. Situated in the village of Wintzenheim, just west of Colmar, the domaine has 25 hectares of vineyards scattered across nearby villages. Pinot Blanc is often thought of as the Alsace workhorse, but if the yields are restricted and the winemaking careful - can produce a full bodied concentrated wine.
Alsace is a dry region of France due to its location and protection from the Vosges mountains, it also often has long warm autumns, these two factors mean that cultivating without the use of many chemicals is not as difficult as in some marginal regions of France where there is a higher rainfall and less late-season sun! Biodynamic production is also very popular here, and this is grown under these conditions, they respect the earth and have visibly watched their vineyard health improve by eliminating agrochemicals.
This wine has a good depth of colour - gold/lemon with aromatics are of apricot through to gala apples with a hint of pear drops and yeast. The first taste indicates some residual fruit sugar and a slight spritz - but the finish is dry, the frisky acidity balances the sweet start and the flavours of ripe red apples and apricots has a crushed apple finish that is crisp, clean and dry to the end.
Suppliers of this wine are Berry Bros and Rudd at a price of £14.95.