Wine Store

Manni is a towering, stubbly, Alpine hulk of a man with a comical cynicism about the modern wine world, as if Woody Harrelson grew several inches taller, threw on a baseball cap, and launched into a bombastic tirade in a mixture of German and Italian, grunting and sighing about Italian consumers’ tasteless appetite for insipid bulk wines.

While Silvaner remains the second most planted grape (after Riesling) in Germany, it has always remained tucked in the shadows. Frank Heyden quietly makes this example from old vines, and the quality shines so brightly that all shadows disappear in a fresh, zesty, mouth-wateringly delicious wash of Silvaner-ish-ness. Juicy and floral from start to finish, this is a great example of coaxing the best from a grape.

An emblematic domain of the Alsace region, Albert Boxler comprises 19 hectares of which half are classed Grand Cru. Founded towards the end of the 1940s, the domain favours clean and careful growing. In any case, the vines planted on steep terrain cannot be reached by machines.