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Léon Beyer

The Beyer family have been making wine in Alsace since the sixteenth century, although the family firm was not truly established until 1867 when Emile Beyer established the Maison de Vin d'Alsace. Currently at the helm is Marc Beyer, with Yann-Léon Beyer, 14th generation of the family, also taking an interest. The domaine comprises 20 hectares of vineyard, with decent sized holdings in two Grands Crus, Eichberg and Pfersigberg. This is despite the fact that Marc Beyer has little interest in the Grand Cru system, and markets his top wines under the Comtes d'Eguisheim designation, with no mention of any Grand Cru status anywhere.

The Beyer style is dry and frequently very elegant. As well as a range of generic wines utilising all the commonly seen Alsatian varieties, there are also a good range of Reserve bottlings. The Comtes d'Eguisheim wines are the domaines top dry wines, and are regarded as some of Alsace's finest. There are also Vendange Tardive and Selection de Grains Nobles cuvées. (31/12/01)

Contact details:
Address: 2 rue de la Première Armée, 68420 Eguisheim
Telephone: +33 (0) 3 89 21 62 30
Fax: +33 (0) 3 89 23 93 63
Internet: www.leonbeyer.fr

Léon Beyer - Tasting Notes

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Léon Beyer Gewurztraminer Vendanges Tardives 2000: A rich golden hue in the glass, a little deeper in colour than I expected. The nose takes a little while, an hour or so in fact, to fully open up. When it has done so there are fairly classic aromas here suggestive of the variety in question, notes of bacon and baked tropical fruits, with orange zest and a bitter orange pith. There is an appealing , polished, white fruit character to it, but it never really assumes the intensity or focus that I would really have liked to have seen. There is a rather relaxed style, showing good substance in the mouth, with some grip and body, but it carries a slightly sense of fat softness too. The acidity is on the low side, a varietal issue, and this doesn’t help the composition of the wine, which lacks real vigour as a result. Grippy, rich, long, mildly interesting, but ultimately lacking true definition. 14.5/20 (January 2012)

Léon Beyer Riesling Les Ecaillers 1990: I am amazed to find it is nine years since I last tasted this wine, and at that time (for the non-mathematicians) it was just eleven years old. It now has a really rich and golden hue, but it still maintains all its freshness throughout. The nose is remarkably characterful, exuberant with golden honey drizzled over lime fruit, cut through with a bright, volcanic minerality. On the palate it still has great substance, firm and broad, although also upright and very well composed. There is plenty of dry but limey fruit, with notes of blackcurrant leaf. Good substance, with a metal-stony tinge to the finish, and a very firm and slowly fading length. This is really good wine, holding up and developing really well. No rush to drink up here. From a 1990 vintage twenty years on tasting. 17.5/20 (December 2010)

Léon Beyer Riesling Les Ecaillers 1990: A good, fairly deep lemon-gold colour to this wine. Lots of fruit on the nose, which maintains a very fresh profile. Lime and apple aromas, with a hint of toffee in the background, but no other noticeable characteristics suggestive of oxidation. Good body on the palate, with a great depth of fruit and petrol flavour, cut through with a lime sharpness. There's an almost paradoxical sharp edge to the rich texture. 17/20 (December 2001)