Every once in a while I taste a wine that makes me think that if it was the only wine that I could ever drink for the rest of my life - I would probably be content. More often than not, it is a white wine from a cool climate. I'm sure it has something to do with acidity, structure, and transparency (the ability to express terroir). These wines are always very approachable, but still maintain enough real complexity to stay interesting. They are wines that appeal to the beginning wine drinker - but manage to easily hold the interest of the most jaded wine groupie. They are not usually the most expensive wines, in fact, they tend to be moderately priced.

The Marc Tempé 2004 Pinot Blanc is one of those wines. The contents of the bottle we drank the other night disappeared way too quickly. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I didn't get my fair share.

Pinot Blanc can, in fact, be light and rather nondescript. The Tempé wine, however, is full of flavor and complexity. Fermentation takes place for up to a year in old oak foudres, which are large barrels. The 2004 is bright and juicy, with an incredibly racy, minerally acidity. In the mouth I picked up notes of mandarin orange that changed to lime as the wine opened up. Believe me, this wine goes down EASY, and makes you beg for more.

For most Americans, Alsace is still relatively obscure. Just across the Rhine River from Germany, it's vineyards are to the west, in the foothills of the Vosges Mountains. Alsace is the only appellation in France in which the wines are identified on the labels by the name of the grapes - Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, and Muscat are the main whites, Pinot Noir, in small amounts, is the principle red. Alsace produces many of the same grapes as Germany. In general, the wines are more delicate, fruity, and lower-alcohol in Germany, while Alsace produces more robust food wines.

Marc Tempé is a committed biodynamic grower with 18.5 acres. He harvests by hand quite late and employs extended fermentations (far longer than the norm) in ancient foudres. He bottles with minimal or no filtration and little SO2.  He never chaptalizes (adds sugar) to boost alcohol or jump-start fermentation.  Scorning residual sugar as a mask to hide faults, he accepts it in his table wines only if the native yeast shut down and the wine is left with sugar naturally.  He's one of those rare guys who are supremely confident but not the least bit arrogant.  His wines are filled with personality.