While Boxler is a fantastic foil to our long term Alsace grower Zind-Humbrecht, there is hugely more to this producer than as a mere alternative. There is a massive amount to love about Albert Boxler. Take the history of this mobile family. They moved from Switzerland to Alsace in the 17th century, which isn’t a massive shift in geography, but then some went off to Montana and it was the eponymous Albert who returned from there in 1946 to re-vivify the Domaine and who commenced bottling.
Alsace
Alsace
It is a cliché and important that Alsace has changed hands so often, its identity is now both German and French. The region's wines reflect that diversity with most grapes coming from the East - Riesling, Sylvaner, Muscat and Gewurztraminer; the remaining contributed by Burgundy - Pinot Noir, and two mutations thereof, Pinots Blanc and Gris.
Overall the region is blighted by generous yields and some winemaking by numbers, but in Zind-Humbrecht and Boxler we have the polar opposite of that approach.
- Domaine Zind HumbrechtWhat`s Olivier`s secret? For one thing, it is a portfolio of some of the best vineyards in Alsace, largely built up by his father Leonard, who had the foresight to buy the great old sites in an era when everyone wanted the flat, easy-to-farm ones. Then there is the fanatical vineyard work; when I visited a few years ago during pruning season, I saw first-hand the levels of consideration demanded of the pruners.
