Tag: Alsatian wine

Single Bottle Review

Wine Review: Marc Kreydenweiss Alsace Riesling

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Domaine Marc Kreydenweiss

The Domaine dates back to the 1600s but gained its current name when Marc took over in 1971.  His son Antoine has been involved for over 20 years and took over running the Domaine in 2007.  The total area under vines is now 13.5 hectares including four Grand Cru sites in the vicinity of their Andlau base.

Alsace Wine Route

Here’s an extract from the Alsace Wine Route map to help you get your bearings:

Andau, Eichhoffen and Mittelbergheim are just below the town of Barr.

See the full Alsace Wine Route map here

One of the defining features of Alsace is its mosaic of thirteen soil types, the result of complex geological activity over time.  The term mosaic is particularly apt as the soils can change over very short distances.

There are, however, some groupings which can act as a guide.  The Sub-Vosges hills have six of the thirteen soil types and Domaine Marc Kreydenweiss has several across its small holdings.

From their website:

The diversity of the soils is an added advantage for the wines. The vineyard is planted 80% on slopes or half-hills, in south-south-east exposition.

The soil composition is complex, with pink sandstone, granite, schist gray/blue or black, sediment, limestone that bring finesse, minerality and freshness to the wines.

The vineyard is located in a radius of 10 km around the village of Andlau, but also to the neighboring villages as Eichhoffen, Mittelbergheim and Barr.

Like most Alsace producers they make sweet wines (Vendanges Tardives (VT) and Sélection de Grains Nobles (SGN)) and spirits, but still dry wines are the focus.  There are three main ranges of wines, in ascending quality:

Fruit [Driven] Wines:

  • Kritt Pinot Blanc
  • Andlau Riesling
  • Lerchenberg Pinot Gris
  • Kritt Gewurztraminer
  • Kritt Klevner
  • Pinot Boir Alsace Blanc (a white blend)
  • Pinot Boir Pinot Noir

Terroir wines

  • La Fontaine aux Enfants – Pinot Blanc
  • Stierkopf (Pinot Blanc & Riesling)
  • Clos Rebgarten (Gewurztraminer)
  • Clos du Val d’Eléon (Riesling & Pinot Gris)
  • Clos Rebberg (Riesling)

Grands Crus

  • Wiebelsberg Grand Cru (Riesling)
  • Moenschberg Grand Cru (Pinot Gris)
  • Kastelberg Grand Cru (Riesling)
  • Kirschberg de Barr Grand Cru (Pinot Noir)

The Fruit and Terroir wines are made from their own grapes and those of close friends, but the Grands Crus are entirely Domaine grapes.

In terms of viticulture they have nearly a full house of postmodern winemaking terms: Organic, Biodynamic and Natural.  Conversion to biodynamics started under Marc himself in 1989, with certification from 1991.

I have tried the Kritt Gewurztraminer several times (and liked it), so when I spotted a bottle of the Andlau Riesling I had to extend my empirical knowledge of the producer:

Marc Kreydenweiss Andlau Riesling 2017

marc-kreydenweiss-andlau-riesling

This Riesling is made from grapes of the Domaine and from growers André and Yann, over 2.2 hectares in the foothills abutting the Grand Cru Wiebelsberg.  The sub-soil is a pink sandstone known as “Grès des Vosges” which is known to impart a minerality to Riesling.  The wine is certified Organic by Demeter and certified Biodynamic by Biodyvin.

On pouring it is clean and clear, a light lemon colour and a little lighter than the Kritt Gewurz.  The nose is a big surprise, given the conventionality of the Gewurz: it has a distinctly “natural” aspect.  For those not familiar with natural wine, it often has a certain rawness or earthiness which defies easy description but is very recognisable.  Beyond that there are juicy stone fruit aromas.

The default flavour notes for Riesling are lime and lemon, but this wine is different – fleshy stone fruit appear again, with suggestions of fruit sweetness but actually resolutely dry.  The finish is long, mineral, slightly sour (though not unpleasantly so).  I found this wine improved over the course of an hour so it needs a bit of air and not to be drunk too cold.

Conclusion

This wine may be a little strange for the uninitiated, but if you already like natural wines or are willing to be a little adventurous then this is an excellent example to try.

  • ABV: 12.5%
  • RRP: ~ €22
  • Stockists: O’Briens stores

Tasting Events

Tindal Treats (part 1 – Schlumberger)

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In the lead up to #AlsaceWineWeek 2019 (starting 20th May) I will be publishing a series of Alsace-related articles – though, given my tastes, that’s not such a big surprise anyway.

The wines of Domaines Schlumberger will be on the Tindal / Searson’s table at the #BigAlsaceTasting on 22nd May – see here for more details.

Earlier this year I dropped in to the Tindal Wines portfolio tasting and tried the wines from several producers, including the excellent Domaines Schlumberger (from the town of Guebwiller in the south of the Alsace wine region) which were being shown by Séverine Schlumberger.  Her commentary was very insightful and has been paraphrased in the notes below.

Most of the land around Guebwiller had been owned by the Prince Abbots of Murbach Abbey – hence the name of the Princes Abbés wines – but it was taken out of their hands during the French Revolution.  Later, the shrewd Ernest Schlumberger added to the family’s holdings by buying up plots in the early 1800s.

carte_schlumberger

The map on the left gives you an idea how steep the hillsides are around Guebwiller – as steep as 50% incline, and coming right down into the town.  The map also highlights the four Grand Cru vineyards of Guebwiller (the only town or village in Alsace to have four, all of which were among the first batch of 25 recognised in 1983); Schlumberger have land across all four amounting to 70 hectares, half of their total holdings.

 

Domaines Schlumberger Les Princes Abbés Alsace Riesling 2014 (12.5%, 2.8 g/L, RRP €22.95 at Searsons, Monkstown; searsons.com)

Domaines Schlumberger Les Princes Abbés Riesling

With its large number of Grands Crus (51), permitted grape varieties (13) and soil types (13), Alsace is complex – but it doesn’t have to be complicated!  With so much choice some sommeliers and retailers don’t even know where to start, but a clean, dry, fruity Alsace Riesling is an excellent place to start.  If there is a dish which partners well with a crisp, dry white wine – think Sancerre, Chablis, Muscadet etc. – then a Riesling such as this “Les Princes Abbés” would also be well suited – it’s dry (2.8 g/L of residual sugar), clean and has zesty lime fruit.

Domaines Schlumberger Les Princes Abbés Alsace Pinot Gris 2016 (13.5%, 9.6 g/L, RRP €22.95 at Searsons, Monkstown; searsons.com; JJ. Fields and Co, Skibbereen)

Domaines Schlumberger Les Princes Abbés Pinot Gris

Alsace Pinot Gris is the ultimate all-rounder at the table – it can partner well with so many dishes – shellfish, fish, chicken, pork etc. – that, if a group are sharing a bottle but eating different foods then this is the one which works best.  The technical analysis reveals this to be very slightly off-dry, but sweetness is hardly noticeable at all – instead, it adds to the roundness and mouthfeel of the wine.

Domaines Schlumberger Les Princes Abbés Alsace Gewurztraminer 2016 (13.4%, 20.4 g/L, RRP €26.95 at Searsons, Monkstown and searsons.com)

Domaines Schlumberger Les Princes Abbés Gewurztraminer

Gewurztraminer is a speciality of Domaines Schlumberger.  This “Les Princes Abbés” is so good that for most restaurants and merchants there’s little point in listing both this and the Grand Cru Kitterlé – it’s one or the other.  This is a very well balanced example of Gewurz – for me, balance is the biggest let down of many Alsace Gewurz wines.  The nose has floral notes but they are not overdone.  On the palate this is clean with a mineral streak but nice roundness.

Domaines Schlumberger ,Alsace Grand Cru Saering Riesling 2015 (14.0%, 4.3 g/L, RRP €31.95 at The Parting Glass, Enniskerry; Daly’s Drinks, Boyle; Searsons, Monkstown and searsons.com)

Domaines Schlumberger Grand Cru Saering Riesling

Schlumberger make three Grand Cru Rieslings; Kitterlé, Kessler and this Saering.  This is the most flexible of the three so tends to be the one picked when a restaurants wants to list a single Grand Cru Riesling.  The 2015 Saering is powerful with 14.0% alcohol but not hot.  Dry, floral and zesty, it has a lovely citrus sensibility with a strong mineral backbone and a long, elegant finish.

Domaines Schlumberger Alsace Grand Cru Spiegel Pinot Gris 2014 (12.4%, 28.4 g/L, RRP €31.95 at Searsons, Monkstown and searsons.com)

Domaines Schlumberger Grand Cru Spiegel Pinot Gris

In Alsace, Pinot Gris grapes destined for inclusion in Grand Cru wines is picked later than that for normal Pinot Gris wines (this was worded very carefully as some fruit from Grand Cru vineyards is used in the second wines).  This gives the grapes higher ripeness but does have a cost; as a grape it has a very short harvest window (between sufficient ripeness and over-ripeness) so needs to be monitored very carefully.  This is a luscious and generous wine, spicy and rich.  It is style unique to Alsace which makes Pinot Gris narrowly my second favourite variety of this amazing region.

 

Opinion

Alsace Wines in Lidl Autumn French Wine Sale

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As in previous years Lidl Ireland are having a French wine sale this autumn, starting on 25th September.  “Sale” means different things to different people – here it doesn’t mean price reductions on existing lines but rather a limited release of certain French wines which aren’t all sale all year round.

The wines come from several different regions including Bordeaux, Rhône valley, the Loire, the Languedoc and Burgundy; but of course I have chosen to focus on my favourite white wine region of the world, Alsace!

Jean Cornelius Trio

Disclosure: samples kindly provided for review

Jean Cornelius Alsace Sylvaner 2016 (12.0%, €8.99 at Lidl Ireland)

 

Jean Cornelius Sylvaner

Sylvaner is often looked down upon as one of the poor relations in Alsace, though that has much to do with grape farmers being paid for quantity rather than quality – Sylvaner can produce high yields but becomes dilute and lacking in flavour.  In the hands of a good vigneron it can produce good wines, though it’s more of a quaffing wine than one for contemplation.

This Jean Cornelius 2016 is a great introduction to the grape, if you didn’t know it before. It’s clean, unoaked and dry, which are all normal for Sylvaner in Alsace, despite misconceptions about the bottle shape (don’t mention the “L word”!) If you like Riesling and Pinot Blanc or unoaked Chardonnay then give this a try, as it sits somewhere in the middle of them flavour-wise – there’s a touch of apple and a touch of citrus, making it great for shellfish, subtle fish dishes or as an aperitif – went great with green olives!

 

Jean Cornelius Alsace Pinot Blanc 2016 (12.0%, €8.99 at Lidl Ireland)

Jean Cornelius Pinot Blanc

Pinot Blanc is the great all-rounder of Alsace; it’s fruity and supple, rarely austere (which Riesling can be) but not as exotic as Gewurztraminer (see below) or its sibling Pinot Gris. In fact there’s a trick which Alsace producers can use – other grapes!  Now they can’t just put any old grapes in, but a dash of Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir (without skin contact of course) or Auxerrois is permitted.

Crunchy apple and pear are the key flavours here.  As the wine warms a little in your glass it goes from Granny Smith to Golden Delicious, but always finishes dry and crips.

 

Jean Cornelius Alsace Gewurztraminer 2016 (12.5%, €7.99 (50cl) at Lidl Ireland)

Jean Cornelius Gewurztraminer

Gewurztraminer – more easily shortened to Gewurz – is very different from most other grapes.  It’s highly aromatic and has a distinctive exotic perfume that can divide drinkers (a true “Marmite grape”).  Due to the ease with which the variety produces sugar it is often made somewhat sweet – on the listing I received this wine is described as moelleux i.e. sweet, but it isn’t classified as either Vendange Tardive or Sélection de Grains Nobles which are the Alsace terms for certain classes of sweet wines.

And on pouring this revealed itself to be a typical Gewurz – rose petals and Turkish delight.  There’s a little fruit sweetness which adds to the round flavours in your mouth, but it finishes perfectly dry – in fact there’s even a little acidity on the finish, something which isn’t always associated with Gewurz.

 

These wines won’t set the world alight, but they are a great introduction to the wines of Alsace and are good representatives of their varieties.