Vintage years

1925, 1934, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1976, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1996, 2007 and 2008

Even less spectacular vintage years such as 1965 and 2006 still have something to be proud about!

Schlossberg Grands Crus can be easily kept for twenty years and today, the vintage years of 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1996 are delicious.

Food wine pairing

With a Schlossberg Riesling: steamed or pan-fried scallops, grilled fish, firm or salty fish like sea bass or red mullet in a light sauce.

With a dry Schlossberg Pinot Gris: chicken breast, baked sea bream.

With an elegant, aromatic Schlossberg Gewurztraminer: Asian food, cheeses, desserts.

Location

At eight kilometres from Colmar, Schlossberg overlooks the Weiss valley from the outskirts of the town of Kientzheim up to the medieval Kaysersberg castle. The 80.28 hectares of this Grand Cru sit on a very steep hillside which required terraces to be built. Over a thousand metres of backing walls built in the Middle Ages have since patiently been restored.

Harmoniously arranged, the plots are covered by a succession of terraces, between 230 and 400 m of altitude. The majority of the Grand Cru faces due south on the Bixkoepfel hillside. A small detached part looks towards the east.

Soil

The material composing the parent rock results from metamorphosic crystallisation of migmatites (blend of gneiss and granite) and biotite granite from Kaysersberg.

The soil depths are general between 30 and 40 cm and don’t exceed 125 cm. The soil particle-size distribution is with sandy-loam earth poor in fine elements, over 50 microns, but rich in sand.

This coarse and sandy-clay soil creates a rich surface with a wide diversity of mineral components (like potassium, magnesium, fluorine or phosphorus) and low water retention.

The pH expresses weak acidity, between 6.1 and 6.9. There is a reasonable amount of phosphoric acid and potash which enriches the soil thanks to the varied mineral-specific levels. However the organic content matter is fairly low. The soils along steep slopes are reinforced by the installation of terraces which reduce erosion risks. However, the organic matter content is fairly low.

Microclimate

Sheltered by the Vosges mountain chain against bad weather regularly coming from the west, Schlossberg is set in a particularly mild area with an annual average over 10°C and rainfall reduced to 500 or even 600 mm/year.

Furthermore, Schlossberg benefits from winds favourable for wine-growing. At the end of August, the fresh air flows from the bottom of the Kaysersberg valley ventilating the vineyard and largely participating in the slow ripening of berries which consequently help produce very fine aromas.

Finally, the steep slopes compete for the optimum absorption of sunrays.

Grape varieties

Riesling is mostly planted on the hillsides of the Schlossberg Grand Cru, admirably expressing the mineral potential of this granite terroir.

It’s this extraordinary harmony between the earth and grapes which the successive generations of wine-makers have always strived to preserve and promote by making Riesling the main focus on the Schlossberg Grand Cru for over a century!

To a lesser extent, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris and Muscat are also present on this terroir, mainly in fewer parcels.

The Vendanges Tardives and Sélections de Grains Nobles which mention the grape variety, regularly produce exceptional wines, very rich and complex, relying on a delicate and structed acidity.

Heritage transmission

In Kientzheim, the Gallo-Roman colonists settled at the crossroads of two roman roads. They were the first to plant vineyards on the sunny hillsides of the Weiss valley overhang. These events apparently date back to the time of Emperor Probus – around 50 years BC.

Around the year 1180, Barberossa (Frederick 1st), Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, crowned in 1155, appropriated a large number of goods, including the donation of an old possession of the Etival monastery (Vosges), quantities of vineyard parcels for which documents would later indicate that they were attributed to the Kaysersberg castle property – hence the origin of the name Schlossberg, castle hill.

The lieu-dit of Schlossberg was identified as of the 14th century. At this time, it was already referred to in property transaction documents. At the end of the 19th century, Schlossberg wines were sold in Rhine wine bottles.

Au XXème siècle, la reconnaissance du site, puis du Grand Cru se fera en plusieurs étapes décisives : en 1928, tout d’abord, les vignerons déterminent des règles de récolte au moyen d’une convention écrite – unanimement respectée. A set of rigorous requirements which Michel Mastrojanni fully understands: This unprecedented approach actually helped Schlossberg be the first lieu-dit, and the only at the time, to benefit in 1975 from the official Alsace Grand Cru appellation (Michel Mastrojanni, Le grand livre des vins d’Alsace, Solar, 1993, p.117). This convention was then consecrated by a decree in 1992, formally attesting its identity of Grand Cru.

Beloved vineyards and land

Schlossberg is on a steep slope and requires terraced farming. Its average plantation density is 5000 vines per hectare. There is a natural grass cover and light tillage and hoeing is undertaken in the very hilly parts of the Grand Cru.

The terraces and small walls impose additional layout and maintenance work for wine-growers. Respecting the work of bygone generations should be perpetuated as actually their approach was rather avant-gardist considering it was based on a quest for quality.

It’s within this same framework of respecting the earth that wine-growers practice either organic or integrated farming.

Thus the intimate relationship between man and vines express a pursuit of purity relating to its production. Wine-growers savour the grapes, monitoring the ripening, sugar and acidity to extract the quintessence. To obtain the fruit, wine-makers must observe the vines and imagine the wine they want to make. And these dialogues are never the same from year to year.

It’s actually during «average» years that Schlossberg wines reach exemplary balance.

A forward-looking future

The Schlossberg Grand Cru horizon is a perspective which escapes wine-makers today. They are at the prelude of a work which they don’t know will be inspired by the past, absorbed by the future or composed of an alliance of the two. The answer is undoubtedly found in their ability to transform the rich terroir into a flow of quality-bearing dynamics.

For now, wine-makers defend the different grape varieties in the Schlossberg along with their diverse aromas which define the Alsace identity.