Albert Boxler

The small family domaine in France that works traditionally using techniques and savoir faire passed down across multiple generations is under serious threat today. Consolidation, technology, regulation, foreign investment, globalization, and many other factors (all in the name of progress), threaten the great agricultural tradition of winegrowing in France, arguably the world’s greatest winegrowing culture. Few domaines in France embody this way of life more ably and proudly than Domaine Albert Boxler in Niedermorschwihr. Jean Boxler, many generations removed from his ancestor of the same name that moved here from Switzerland in 1673, currently rules the roost at this humble yet incredibly exciting domaine. Intense and serious about his land, his craft, and his wine, Jean is the genius behind what are certainly some of the finest white wines in Alsace (and the world).

World War II brought Jean’s grandfather Albert back to Niedermorschwihr from Montana, where he was busy enjoying the natural gifts of big sky country. After the war Albert returned to the family domaine in time to harvest the 1946 crop. He became the first generation to bottle the family’s production himself and commercialize it under a family label. The wine still wears a label drawn by his cousin in 1946. Albert’s son Jean-Marc continued the tradition for several decades until passing the baton to his son Jean in 1996.

The family’s holdings are centered around the ancient village of Niedermorschwihr in the Haut-Rhin, dominated by the imposing granite hillside grand cru, Sommerberg. Jean vinifies micro-parcels within this cru separately, de-classifying some into his Réserve wines and producing multiple bottlings of Sommerberg from the different lieux-dits depending on the vintage. Sommerberg gives racy, intensely structured, very long-lived wines. Riesling, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Blanc are the specialties of the domaine, while Boxler also produces one of Alsace’s best Crémants (and Edelzwickers), an incredible Gewurztraminer grown in limestone, and some of the most hauntingly pure Vendanges Tardives and SGNs in all of Alsace. If that weren’t enough, the Boxlers also own land in the powerful grand cru Brand, the ultimate counterpart to their holdings in Sommerberg.

The Sommerberg hillside terminates in Jean’s driveway, making it easy to basically live in the vineyards, ensuring exceptionally healthy fruit year after year. After harvest, the wines are vinified and aged in old foudres in a small cellar underneath the family home until bottling. Not much has changed over the centuries; not much has needed to. Tasting through the entire range of Boxler’s wines is ample proof of the fact that Alsace, along with Burgundy, is the source of the world’s most complex, exciting white wines, and will probably always be.

Technical Information

Wine	Blend	Vine Age	Soil Type	Vineyard Area*
Chasselas	Chasselas	45 years	Granite	13.8 ha in total
Sylvaner	Sylvaner	50 years	Granite	13.8 ha in total
Edelzwicker Réserve	Varies by vintage, see below	N/A	Granite, Alluvial	13.8 ha in total
Pinot Gris Grand Cru Sommerberg “Eckberg”	Pinot Gris	N/A	Limestone, granite, alluvial	13.8 ha total
Muscat	Muscat d’Alsace	40 years	Limestone	13.8 ha total
Muscat Grand Cru Brand Muscat	50% Muscat Ottonel, 50% Muscat d'Alsace	Planted in 1964	Granite	13.8 ha total
Riesling	Riesling	8 – 50 years	Granite, Limestone	13.8 ha in total
Riesling Réserve	Riesling	15 years	Granite	13.8 ha in total
Riesling Vieilles Vignes	Riesling	Planted in 1957	Granite	.23 ha
Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg	Riesling	40 years	Granite	13.8 ha in total
Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg “Dudenstein”	Riesling	65 years	Granite	13.8 ha in total
Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg “Eckberg”	Riesling	35 – 40 years	Granite	13.8 ha in total
Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg “Scheibenberg”	Riesling	20 years	Granite	13.8 ha in total
Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg “Vanne”	Riesling	Planted in 1953	Granite	.70 ha
Riesling Grand Cru Brand	Riesling	40 years	Granite	13.8 ha in total
Riesling Grand Cru Brand “Kirchberg”	Riesling	67 years	Granite	13.8 ha in total
Pinot Blanc	Pinot Blanc	40 years	Granite	13.8 ha in total
Pinot Blanc Réserve	Pinot Blanc	40 years	Granite	13.8 ha in total
Pinot Gris	Pinot Gris	30 years	Granite, Limestone	13.8 ha in total
Pinot Gris Réserve	Pinot Gris	15 – 65 years	Granite	13.8 ha in total
Pinot Gris Grand Cru Sommerberg	Pinot Gris	14 – 25 years	Granite	13.8 ha in total
Pinot Gris Grand Cru Sommerberg “Wibtal”	Pinot Gris	14 – 25 years	Granite	13.8 ha in total
Pinot Gris Grand Cru Brand	Pinot Gris	22 – 45 years	Granite	13.8 ha in total
Pinot Gris “Heimbourg”	Pinot Gris	Planted in 1976	Limestone	N/A
Gewurztraminer	Gewurztraminer	10 – 65 years	Granite, Limestone, Alluvial	13.8 ha in total
Gewurztraminer Réserve	Gewurztraminer	40 – 67 years	Limestone	13.8 ha in total
Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Brand	Gewurztraminer	40 years	Granite	13.8 ha in total
Pinot Noir	Pinot Noir	N/A	Granite	13.8 ha total
Pinot Noir “S”	Pinot Noir	50 years	Granite	13.8 ha in total
Crémant d’Alsace	30% Pinot Blanc, 50% Pinot Auxerrois, 20% Pinot Noir	8 – 40 years	Alluvial	13.8 ha in total
Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg VT**	Riesling	40 years	Granite	13.8 ha in total
Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg SGN**	Riesling	40 years	Granite	13.8 ha in total
Pinot Gris Grand Cru Sommerberg VT**	Pinot Gris	14 – 25 years	Granite	13.8 ha in total
Pinot Gris Grand Cru Sommerberg SGN**	Pinot Gris	14 – 25 years	Granite	13.8 ha in total
Gewurztraminer “Boland” VT	Gewurztraminer	40 years	Granite	13.8 ha in total
* "ha" = hectares; one hectare equals roughly two and a half acres

VITICULTURE / VINIFICATION

**In some years, Riesling and Pinot Gris Sommerberg Vendanges Tardives and Sélection de Grains Nobles bottlings are produced from specific parcels

All White Wines:
• All grapes are harvested by hand
• No fining
• After pressing, cold settling before fermentation begins
• All fermentation is natural
• All wines vinified in foudre except Gewurztraminers, Vendanges Tardives, and Sélection de Grains Nobles which are vinified in stainless steel

Edelzwicker Réserve:
• Blend changes each year
• 2015: Pinot Auxerrois, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, and Riesling
• 2016: Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Auxerrois, Sylvaner
• 2017: Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris
• 2018: Pinot Blanc, Pinot Auxerrois, Muscat, Riesling
• 2019: Sylvaner, Pinot Auxerrois, Pinot Gris, Riesling
• 2020: Riesling (young vine Sommerberg), Pinot Gris (Brand), Pinot Blanc, Sylvaner
• 2021: 45% Sylvaner, 30% Gewurz, 15% Riesling Sommerberg, 10% Muscat Brand

Muscat:
• Sourced from the lieu-dit Boland, South-southeast exposure

Riesling:
• A blend of young vines from grand cru Sommerberg (granite terroir) and Pfoeller (limestone terroir)

Riesling Réserve:
• Young vine grand cru (both Sommerberg and Brand depending on vintage)

Riesling Vieilles Vignes:
• Made from a .23 ha declassified parcel of Grand Cru Sommerberg “Mittelberg”
Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg “Dudenstein”: 1.2 ha
Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg “Eckberg”: .80 ha
Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg “Scheibenberg”: .36 ha
Riesling Grand Cru Brand “Kirchberg”: .28 ha
Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg “Vanne”: .70 ha
Pinot Gris Grand Cru Sommerberg “Wibtal”: .80 ha
• Not all grand cru bottlings are produced every year

Pinot Gris Réserve:
• Young vine grand cru (both Sommerberg and Brand depending on vintage)

Pinot Blanc Réserve:
• From grand cru Brand

Gewurztraminer Réserve:
• A blend from Heimbourg and Pfoeller (limestone terroir)

Pinot Noir “S”:
• 6 to 7 barrels made each year
• Maceration lasts 15 days
• Racked into barrel by gravity
• Aged for 18 months in used Burgundian barrels
• Grapes come from grand cru Sommerberg

Crémant d’Alsace:
• Racked into tank by gravity
• Dosage (extra brut): approximately 3 grams/liter
• Bottles aged sur lattes for minimum 24 - 30 months
• Bottles rotated by hand
• 2012 Disgorgement: July 2015

MISCELLANEA

AOC Alsace Explained

AOC Alsace wines are generally varietal wines. The wines in which the grape variety appears on the label are 100% the stated variety.

The permitted grapes are the four noble grapes: Gewurztraminer, Muscat, Riesling, and Pinot Gris, completed with Auxerrois (also known as Klevner), Chasselas, Pinot Blanc, Savagnin rosé, Sylvaner, and Pinot Noir.

When no grape variety indicated on the label, the wine is typically a blend.

Depending on which varieties are used in the blend, the producer can label the wine as AOC Alsace, AOC Alsace “Edelzwicker,” or AOC Alsace “Gentil d’Alsace.”

AOC Alsace blends and “Edelzwicker” can be a blend of any grapes allowed within the AOC. There is no grape minimum; the different varieties may be vinified together or separately. The mention of vintage is optional. There is no technical difference between the composition of AOC Alsace blends and “Edelzwicker”—it is at the producer’s discretion as to how they would like to label their wine.

The denomination “Gentil d’Alsace” is reserved for AOC Alsace wines that fit within the standards of a superior quality blend. This blend must consist of a minimum of 50% of noble grapes: Riesling, Muscat, Pinot Gris, and/or Gewurztraminer, the rest made up of Sylvaner, Chasselas, Pinot Blanc, and/or Auxerrois. Before blending, each grape variety must be vinified separately and must officially qualify as an AOC Alsace wine.