The 2024 wines from Alsace's Jintaro Yura call us back to his first stateside release from '21: brisk, incisive, wildly refreshing – and still a stylistic outlier in the region.

You know we love to see it: when a new talent comes from outside a region, with global perspective in tow, to make category-changing wine (not unlike Tino Kuban in Burgundy or Jade Gross in Rioja). In Alsace, it's Jintaro Yura showing us a lifted, graceful side of Alsatian whites.

Son of a Tokyo restaurateur, Jintaro traveled between wineries in Japan, New Zealand and Burgundy before landing in Alsace. After working with a series of mentors (including at Josmeyer and Hurst), his time with Vincent Gross' biodynamic estate fully grounded him with a desire to make his own wines from the region.

Working exclusively with limestone-rooted sites, he now has a small cellar where he’s crafting a trio of atypically crystalline wines from Pinot Blanc, Riesling and Pinot Noir, in a combination of ceramic and wood vessels. His Pinot Blanc (his first cuvée) is particularly symbolic: always a glass pour in his father’s restaurant, he sees the grape's neutrality as versatility, and a pure window to Alsatian terroir.

Both wines below are sourced from Gueberschwihr vineyard, a uniquely limestone-rich site farmed by Domaine Gross:

2024 Jintaro Yura L'Abeille et Le Papillon Pinot Blanc, $70
Pinot Blanc blended with Auxerrois, aged in an even mix of stainless steel, new demi-muid and used demi-muid for 8 months.

2024 Jintaro Yura Le Silence et La Résonance Riesling, $75
100% Riesling, fermented just dry (5 g/L RS) and aged in a mix of stainless steel, new demi-muid and ceramic.

Shop Jintaro Yura

Also Alsace: La Rogerie

Speaking of finesse in the region! The couple behind La Rogerie – François Petit of Champagne and Justine Boxler of Alsace – manages vineyards and cellars in both regions. Also known for their vinous, not-at-all-shy Champagne from Avize, their Alsace work is based in Justine's hometown of Niedermorschwihr; a lineup that has expanded a touch, now farming two hectares of Grand Cru fruit.

The aesthetic is much closer to Jintaro's than the bottles of Alsace's past; an elegant, fresh take on Grand Cru fruit:

2023 La Rogerie Pinots Reserve Perpetuelle Niedermorschwihr, Alsace $90
2023 La Rogerie Riesling 'Schneid' Turckheim, Alsace, $95
2023 La Rogerie Riesling Brand, Alsace Grand Cru, $150
2023 La Rogerie Riesling 'Katzenthal' Florimont, Alsace Grand Cru $150
2023 La Rogerie Riesling Sommerberg, Alsace Grand Cru, $150

Shop La Rogerie