Anselmann Gewurztraminer Kabinett 2022 | LCBO Code # 630004 | Pfalz, Germany | $18.95 | 750 ml 9.7% alc. | Residual sugar 47 g/l

For English speakers, the name of this grape has always been harder to pronounce than the wine is to enjoy. 

Gewurztraminer is a member of the muscat family of grapes and therefore very aromatic. It can be used to make dry wines but its best expression is when the juice is fermented to a point that leaves a little sweetness in the wine. Sugar helps elevate taste and aromatics.

This wine comes from Germany’s Pfalz region which is the second largest producer of wines after the province of Rheinhessen. 

Anselmann is a producer known for its appealing and modestly priced off-dry and dessert wines and with the 2022 vintage they’ve scored a winner.

Two characteristics most commonly associated with this grape are: roses and lychee and this bottle gives you bouquets of both in wave after wave. It’s also got sufficient tropical notes that will have you thinking about Thai food and it finishes with some ripe apricot that might have you craving glazed ham for dinner.

Aromatic wines can sometimes be too much of a good thing with one element or another out of balance but the Anselmann has a lovely balance of sugar and acidity leaving you grateful that it doesn’t feel cloyingly sweet.

Wines in the muscat family typically do very well with Asian foods so don’t be afraid to experiment especially if the wine is a little sweet and your food a little spicy.

For the money this represents one of the nicer examples of Gewurztraminer because it’s both so varietally correct and restrained, if not elegant, at the same time.

As of this writing there are 230 bottles in the Ottawa market.