Domaine Albert Boxler

The extra time in cellar before this wine is released is a testament to why the wise and well-heeled wine-lover is rewarded for their patience. Time has worked the 2020 Brand Grand Cru Pinot Gris into a purer version of itself, jumper-cable’d its perfume into something so magnetized. An intoxicating aroma gushes from the glassware, erotically musky and honey’d, like sticky meadow flowers at full flush—peonies and marmalade—truly a French kiss for the olfactory bulb. The palate is unabashedly rich, with the cru Brand’s round acidity and the supple feel of orange syrup. And then the wine takes a winking turn toward a leesy note that imitates orange pith before bouncing back on the finish to give you something beautiful, redolent of Coco López and key lime pie. Each sip craves the next. A perfectly complete wine, the kind that makes you close your eyes and forget your surroundings. This wine is clearly incredible at five years of age. I know from an unforgettable experience at The Modern in New York that it is also incredible at nine years of age. And now I want to fill in all the gaps, visiting this wine at every age, until it finally falls off, wherever that might be. Perhaps it would outlive me. There are all kinds of ways to pair this but I would love to try it with a Cajun crab boil, a Hawaiian roasted pork dish, or keep it French with a fig and foie gras mousse on the best baguette you can find.