We could not believe our luck when we first visited Albert Boxler and discovered that they were not being distributed in Australia. One of the two best Alsace dry Riesling producers (the other being Trimbach in our view) not being available in a country that loves dry Riesling! Still the wines remain little known here yet are rockstar status in Europe. They sell a good portion of their 5000 case production direct to clients all over Europe and don’t bother with promotion or press, they don’t need to. When they do appear in the more restrained French press the Grand Cru Rieslings receive near perfect scores. Those in the know will recognise their name as one of the greats. These are like nothing you have tried before from Alsace.

Domaine Albert Boxler is a 300 year old family run domaine in the high Alsace village of Niedermorschwihr. Today the domaine is run by Jean Boxler, Albert’s grandson who has over 20 vintages under his belt. This is one of Alsace’s most prestigious addresses, with a reputation of producing some of the region’s finest and most consistent wines. Their 13.5 hectares of vineyards rate amongst the best holdings in Alsace with over 50% Grand Cru rated, shared among the Sommerberg and Brand Grand Crus. The steep and terraced Sommerberg vineyards are only able to be worked manually. Most of the vines are on granitic soils with some limestone based plots too. All the vineyards are farmed organically.

Natural yeast fermentations take place in wooden foudre, some very old and some newer. Jean keeps each parcel separate and does not necessarily blend them so the range on offer changes slightly from year to year depending on quantity and quality.  

Jean prefers to retain acidity in his wines so they tend to be drier than average Alsacian examples. Densely concentrated but incredibly pure, with the mineral drive of granitic soils giving Boxler’s wines a brilliance and precision rarely matched in the region. The quality of their vineyards and the skill of the Boxlers translate into some of the most exciting and potentially longest lived wines, particularly Rieslings, in Alsace.