The madron Mountain Starthistle Cuvee 07 is a blend of 74% Riesling, and 26% Huxelrebe. On the nose, notes of mint, lilac and cream. On the attack, intense acidity supporting a parade of fruit: peach, guava, mango, lemon, apple! And rhubarb? But it is in the finish that the late harvest character of this wine is most evident. It is a finish that lasts and lasts, leaving a sense of sweet smoke on the palate and an impression of freshness. This is profoundly powerful wine.

Labeled as a kind of insider's joke (the Starthistle is, perhaps, the single most hated weed in the viticulturalists' pasture of enemies), Starthistle Cuvee is, nevertheless, a very serious wine. Vinted from 74% Riesling and 26% Huxelrebe, a pre-war hybrid of two old varieties, Chasselas (also known as Gudelet) and Courtillier-Musque, Starthistle combines the unctuousness of its Musque antecedents with the acidity of Chasselas. Both characteristics are amplified and played upon in this wine as a result of its late- harvested character. The grapes already expressed a heady, perfumed spiciness from the crush. The result is a clean, palate-cleansing wine of surprising concentration and length. It pairs beautifully with savory starters.