The André Kientzler Gewurztraminer Haguenau 2021 is a richly perfumed, off-dry Alsace white from the Haguenau lieu-dit, a clay-heavy site alongside the Grand Cru Osterberg at Ribeauvillé. Gewurztraminer at its most expressive here, with around 25 grams of residual sugar carried by real acidity rather than left to sit heavy.

Lychee and rose petal lead, then candied ginger, dried apricot and a lick of orange peel. There is a savoury edge underneath the perfume — beeswax, white pepper, something faintly smoky — that keeps the aromatics from tipping into confection.

The 2021 vintage in Alsace was cool and slow to ripen, and the Kientzler Haguenau shows it as freshness: the palate is broad and oily in texture, as Gewurztraminer should be, but the acid line runs right through the middle and the finish comes back drier than the sweetness suggests. Clay soils give the weight, the season gives the lift, and 13% alcohol keeps it in balance.

Pour it with anything the sweetness can meet head-on: Alsatian foie gras, a duck curry, char siu pork, or salt-and-pepper squid. Washed-rind cheeses are the classic call, and Munster in particular is worth the trouble.

Drinking well from 2025 through to about 2033, gaining honey and dried-fruit depth as the primary florals settle.