Website: www.vinsboxler.fr
We visited Domaine Justin Boxler with Charlotte Boxler (pictured above), who now runs the domaine with her cousin Florent Wiss. They are based in Niedermorschwihr and have vines in Grand Cru Sommerberg (near the village) and also Pfoeller, Brand and Wineck-Schlossberg.
Justin was the grandfather of Charlotte, and he was the first to bottle wines from the family vines in the late 1950s. He had 4 hectares of vineyard plus some animals. In the 1980s her aunt and father decided to work together and bought some more vineyards. Her aunt’s son Florent now shares running the domaine with Charlotte, as Pierre, her father, has now retired. Florent likes being in the vines on a tractor and they work together in the cellar.
We took a look around some of the vineyards close to Niedermorschwihr, which is yet another impossibly pretty Alsace village. They were looking good, even on a damp October afternoon.
The vineyard holdings are organically farmed, with 2022 the first certified vintage. Altogether, they have 12 hectares of vines spread quite widely around. These are very impressive wines. It’s a little tough having the Boxler surname and not being the famous one (Albert Boxler, run by Jean, is one of the region’s star names now: there is a family connection – Justin and Albert were brothers), but these wines are very serious.
THE WINES
Justin Boxler Crémant d’Alsace Bulles de Pinots 2020 Alsace
Zero dosage, granitic soils. Pinot Auxerrois, Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc and a touch of Pinot Gris. Disgorged January 2023. Linear and taut with nice cherry and lime fruit, showing nice weight. Fruity and expressive with nice flavour, and a dry finish. Stylish. 91/100
Justin Boxler Pinot Auxerrois Empreintes 2022 Alsace
Granite soils. Fresh, supple and lively with primary pear, apple and citrus fruit. Delicate and fine with nice weight. A subtle, delicate fruity wine of real appeal. 90/100
Justin Boxler Riesling Pfoeller 2022 Alsace
This is from limestone soils. They have different areas in the Pfoeller, totalling 1 ha of Riesling, with the youngest vines planted 7 years ago. Lively, bright and mineral with nice citrus drive, showing stony detail to the balanced lemon and pear fruit. This has a nice delicacy to it. Fresh and detailed, showing nice purity and a hint of spice on the finish. Dry. 93/100
Justin Boxler Riesling Grand Cru Brand 2018 Alsace
Granitic soils, facing east, 30 Ares of Riesling. Stony, vivid and mineral with nice pear and lemon fruit, with a savoury, stony edge to the fruit. Dry and expressive, showing a little development. 91/100
Justin Boxler Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg 2019 Alsace
Pink granitic soils. Stony, mineral, appley nose. Lively, bright, exotic but restrained palate Shows apple, pear, lime with a very stony mineral undercurrent and high acidity. Powerful but with lovely acidity and focus, showing mandarin, apple and pear. Bold flavours here with a touch of waxiness on the finish. 93/100
They make two Pinot Noirs. In 2021 they lost 60% of their production because of the difficult vintage conditions.
Justin Boxler Pinot Noir Croisée des Chemins 2021 Alsace
From granite soils, just 12 hl/ha this year. All destemmed. Very fine, pure, mineral and sappy with lovely detail. Shows red cherries and plums with nice texture and structure and good acidity, with a lovely mineral quality. Very expressive and pure, with subtle woody notes in the background. 93/100
Justin Boxler Pinot Gris Au Pied du Bari 2022 Alsace
From the foot of the Sommerberg, granitic soils. Bright and fruit driven with mandarin, orange peel and pear fruit, showing nice balance. It’s fruity and alert with some grapey richness hemmed in by nice acidity. 90/100
Justin Boxler Pinot Gris Grand Cru Sommerberg 2018 Alsace
This is rich and off-dry (40 g/l rs) with grapes, bacon, spice, apple and pear, showing a hint of rasiny richness and a good balance between the richness and savouriness. Juicy and linear with nice depth. Old school sweet Pinot Gris. Has balance and freshness along with sweetness. 91/100
Justin Boxler Gewurztraminer Pfoeller 2019 Alsace
Limestone soils. Some of this has since been grafted over to Riesling, because they had too much Gewurztraminer. Fresh and expressive but still clearly Gewurz with lychee, pear and table grape, showing nice depth with fine spicy notes. Nice balance here with 32 g/l of residual sugar adding sweetness but the wine never gets flat or cloying. 92/100
Justin Boxler Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Wineck-Schlossberg 2018 Alsace
Granite soils. Powerful and intense with rich lychee and grape notes with a distinctive spiciness. Powerful, with a slight savoury spiciness and rich bold fruit. This is a bold, intense, textured wine with lots of sweetness but good balance. Beautiful stuff. 94/100
Justin Boxler Gewurztraminer Vendanges Tardives 2020 Alsace
13% alcohol. 9th November during the second lockdown. 25 harvesters came and it was a beautiful day. Vines planted in 1965. Powerful, intense and pure with nice freshness as well as rich pear, apricot and lychee fruit. Concentrated and fine with amazing focus. Yellow plums, table grapes. This is so pure and fine, very sweet but brilliantly balanced. 95/100
Justin Boxler Selection de Grains Nobiles Pinot Gris 2017 Alsace
12.5% alcohol. 150 g/l residual sugar. Intense with high acidity countering the bold marmalade, spice and apricot fruit, as well as some table grape and raisin notes. Powerful and exotic with a savoury spicy edge. Sweet and sour, with some bitterness adding balance to the exotic fruit. Viscous and delicious. Immense, finishing long and sweet. 94/100