Fresh & Dry

Riesling d’Alsace

Riesling d’Alsace

Tasting it

Bud

The pale yellow hue with bright green tints is indicative of its characteristic freshness. 

Nose

It’s aroma is fine and elegant, with subtle fruit (lemon, citronella, grapefruit, peach, pear, fruit compote…) and floral (white flowers, lime blossom, nettle flowers…) notes, and even aniseed, cumin, liquorice and fennel seeds.  Riesling is unique in its evolution as, depending on the soil-type where it grows, it develops mineral aromas (flint, silex, kerosene…).  These distinctive aromas can be found in terroir wines (Grands Crus, Lieux-dits…).

Palate

This dry wine is very linear. Its framework is provided by a lively intensity, noticeable from the moment the wine touches your mouth until the tail-end of its finish, the mid-palate being noticeable due to its weight. 

The Riesling d’Alsace is a wine to be kept, maturing wonderfully in its bottle for decades. The diversity of Alsace terroirs is ideal for this grape as it’s a transparent veil, a medium through which terroir can be expressed to its fullest.

Riesling d’Alsace

Pairing it

This inimitable wine unfolds an array of resources: singular balance, remarkable zestiness and an exquisite finesse!

Endowed with a subtle palette of aromas, it makes for a great match with delicate white fish which requires an elegant wine to match its taste. Its fine acidity, combined with a dash of lemon zest, brings out the subtle flavours of shellfish while enhancing its salty quality.  When fish and shellfish are cooked with a sauce or with cream, it brings a lightness which refreshes the palate, preparing it for the next mouthful.

Unlike any other variety, its soil-specific minerality can be a delicious match to the intense iodine flavours of oysters.

And without openly boasting, it’s one of the rare white wines that can be paired with caviar without it leaving an unpleasant fishy and metallic taste in your mouth. You need all the character of a Riesling d’Alsace to not be overwhelmed by the caviar taste but rather enjoy it even more with each bite you take. 

Now leaving the fish world, Riesling also matches perfectly with poultry and white meats which don’t fare well with aggressive tannins. It’s a great partner for accompanying preparations in sauces such as with veal ragout or Coq … au Riesling.

When it comes to the cheeseboard, goat and sheep milk cheeses are ideal with these vivid and expressive wines, with the long and racy acidity reflecting the sharp acidity found in these cheeses.

Riesling d’Alsace

Its origins

It’s the ultimate Rhineland grape variety! It’s recognised the world over that it originated in the Rhine Valley. For some, it was the Roman Argitis Minor grape varietal and its culture dates back to the Roman occupation. According to Stoltz, Riesling was introduced during the 9th century in the Rheinghau wine-growing region. In 843, right after the division of the Empire of Charlemagne, Louis II the German had Riesling grapes (then called Gentil Aromatique) planted along the Rhine.

This grape variety was soon called Riesling coming from ‘riesen’ (‘to fall’ in German), as before it became acclimatised to Alsace, it was highly sensitive to adverse weather conditions such as coulure from rain during budburst making the flowers fall to the ground - and therefore leaving no grapes for production. 

Different from its German cousin, the Alsace Riesling was introduced to our region at the end of the 15th century. It is often cited during the following century but its growth really only developed in the second half of the 19th century. It was after the 1960’s that it reached the top position of production areas in Alsace.

Portrait

To fairly describe me, both the pure and complex structures must be mentioned: the large trees with its branches outstretched towards the sky in winter or our most magnificent cathedrals. I am like the crystalline and precise sound of clarinets in musical works of Mozart. The elegance of my acidy structure, my vigorous and exquisite aromas along with my strong ties to the mineral world make my wine an unending adventure of depth and finesse.

In the vineyards

  • Leaf

    The leaf is orbicular and thick. The pointy-teeth are average-sized. It’s small, cylindrical or cylindro-conical and compact. The stem is short and woody-like. The berries are small, bright green to golden yellow hue, dotted with reddish-brown spots when fully ripe, and have a thick skin. The berry is small, bright green to a golden yellow hue, dotted with reddish-brown spots when fully ripe. It has a thick skin and when bitten into there is an explosion of delicate and aromatic flavours.
  • Bunch

    Riesling grappes@2x
  • Berry

    Riesling baie@2x