Contemplative in Alsace

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Trimbach's 1.67 hectare monopole inside Grand Cru Rosacker, declassified to Alsace AOC by family preference. Piercing dry Riesling that needs a decade to unwind into wax, citrus and Vosges granite salinity.

Dry · Medium-bodied · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Trimbach's flagship Riesling blends Grand Cru Geisberg and Osterberg fruit. Dry, structured, smoky, built to age but rich enough to drink young.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

A single 0.45 hectare parcel high on Grand Cru Schoenenbourg, declassified to Alsace AOC because Hugel disagrees with the wider GC delimitation. Hugel's flagship dry Riesling, released as a multi-decade vintage statement.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Marc Kreydenweiss's Kastelberg Riesling from steep Steige-schist slopes above Andlau. Biodynamic since 1989; smoky, dry, structured.

Off Dry · Full-bodied · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Deiss's complanted Altenberg de Bergheim, with Riesling dominant in the field-blend. Calcareous Bergheim soils, long ageing, profound structure.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Andre Ostertag's Riesling from volcanic-sandstone Muenchberg Grand Cru above Nothalten. Sharp, smoky, structured; a Lower Vosges Riesling worth seeking out.

Dry · Full-bodied · Racy acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Schoffit's flagship Riesling from the Clos Saint Theobald inside Grand Cru Rangen, the southernmost Alsace volcano. Smoky and intensely mineral, structured for decades.

Dessert · Full-bodied · High acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Weinbach's noble-rot Pinot Gris from the Altenbourg lieu-dit. Honeycomb, candied apricot and saffron honey; a multi-decade dessert wine made only in exceptional vintages.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Weinbach's flagship dry Riesling from old vines on Schlossberg granite, picked late on Saint Catherine's Day (25 November). The estate's most precise Riesling.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Weinbach's top Schlossberg parcel selection from the very oldest Schlossberg vines (planted in the 1940s). Released only in vintages that yield exceptional ripeness with retained acidity.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Zind-Humbrecht's monopole walled-vineyard Riesling, perched below Grand Cru Hengst on calcareous-marl soils. Pure dry Riesling, often singled out as a benchmark.

Dry · Full-bodied · Racy acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Zind-Humbrecht's flagship Riesling from the Clos Saint Urbain inside Grand Cru Rangen, the volcanic-slope masterpiece. Smoky, intensely mineral, structured for two decades.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Contemplative · Elegant

Zind-Humbrecht's Clos Windsbuhl monopole sits high above Hunawihr on Muschelkalk limestone. A cool-climate, slow-developing Riesling, structured for a long cellar.