Elegant in Alsace

Off Dry · Full-bodied · Medium acidity · Elegant

Boxler's Brand Gewurztraminer, a warm-site granite expression. Concentrated rose, lychee and ginger with the cuvee's saline mineral lift.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Boxler's Brand Grand Cru Riesling, from steep granite slopes above Turckheim. Warmer-site fruit than Sommerberg but with the same precise dry register.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Boxler's E parcel selection on Sommerberg, a 70-year-old vine block on steep south-facing granite above Niedermorschwihr. Sharp, mineral, slow to age.

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

Boxler's L parcel selection on Sommerberg (formerly called Jeunes Vignes), younger granite vines but the same incisive mineral character.

Off Dry · Full-bodied · Medium acidity · Elegant

Albert Mann's Furstentum Gewurztraminer from limestone slopes above Sigolsheim. Concentrated, saline, with a particularly mineral cut for the grape.

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

Albert Mann's Pinot Noir Grand H from old plots on Grand Cru Hengst, bottled as Alsace AOC because Hengst was not yet open to Pinot Noir at the cuvee's launch. A Burgundian-register Alsace red.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Albert Mann's selection from the heart of Schlossberg, the original 1.5 hectare epicentre of the Grand Cru. Biodynamic, structured for the cellar.

Off Dry · Full-bodied · Medium acidity · Elegant

Albert Mann's Steingrubler Gewurztraminer from gentle limestone slopes above Wettolsheim. Lighter than Furstentum but in the same aromatic Grand Cru register.

Dry · Medium-bodied · High acidity · Elegant

Albert Seltz's Zotzenberg Sylvaner, the only Sylvaner permitted on a Grand Cru in Alsace. Seltz led the campaign for Sylvaner's recognition on Zotzenberg.

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

Barmes-Buecher's vintage-dated extra-brut Cremant. Long-aged on lees in a Champagne-style Alsace Cremant, biodynamic, often zero-dosage.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Barmes-Buecher's Hengst Riesling from calcareous-marl slopes above Wintzenheim. Biodynamic, limestone-driven, dry and slowly developing.

Off Dry · Full-bodied · Medium acidity · Elegant

Barmes-Buecher's Steingrubler Gewurztraminer from limestone slopes above Wettolsheim. Concentrated rose and lychee in a saline biodynamic register.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Beck-Hartweg's Frankstein Riesling from coarse granite around Dambach-la-Ville. Biodynamic, dry, with the brisk, light register of Dambach granite.

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

Bernard Bohn's natural-style Schist Riesling from Reichsfeld in the Lower Vosges. Biodynamic, smoky, mineral; one of the few Steige-schist bottlings in Alsace.

Off Dry · Full-bodied · Medium acidity · Elegant

Bott-Geyl's Furstentum Gewurztraminer from limestone-rich slopes above Kientzheim. Concentrated, saline and structured by altitude.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Bott-Geyl's Mandelberg Riesling from south-facing limestone-marl slopes near Mittelwihr, named for the almond trees that once dotted the slope.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Bott-Geyl's Schoenenbourg Riesling from marl-gypsum slopes above Riquewihr. Concentrated and saline with the cool-climate cut of the cru.

Off Dry · Full-bodied · Medium acidity · Elegant

Bott-Geyl's Sonnenglanz Gewurztraminer from south-facing marl-limestone slopes around Beblenheim. Sun-glanced fruit (the cru's name means 'sunshine') with a saline mineral lift.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Bruno Sorg's Florimont Riesling from limestone slopes near Ingersheim. The cru takes its name from 'flower hill' for its rich Vosges flora.

Off Dry · Full-bodied · High acidity · Elegant

Cave de Ribeauville's Clos du Zahnacker is a near-monopole walled vineyard from the cooperative founded in 1895, complanted with the noble grapes.

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

Binner's complanted Kaefferkopf, named for his daughter Beatrice. Field-blend of noble grapes in a natural-wine register; Kaefferkopf became Alsace's 51st Grand Cru in 2007.

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

Binner's natural-style Schlossberg Riesling. Bone-dry, granite-driven, often with a slight reductive twang from the no-added-sulfite winemaking.

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.

Off Dry · Full-bodied · Medium acidity · Elegant

Dirler-Cade's Kessler Gewurztraminer from sandstone slopes above Guebwiller, biodynamic since the early 1990s. Concentrated rose and lychee with a saline lift.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Dirler-Cade's Kitterle Riesling from terraced sandstone slopes above Guebwiller. Smoky, dry, structured; biodynamic since the mid 2000s.

Off Dry · Full-bodied · Medium acidity · Elegant

Dirler-Cade's Spiegel Gewurztraminer from sandstone-marl slopes above Bergholtz. Concentrated rose and lychee with a saline lift.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Domaine Agape (Hunawihr) Rosacker Riesling from limestone slopes in the cru that also houses Trimbach's Clos Sainte Hune. Organic and bone-dry.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Etienne Loew's Muschelkalk Riesling from limestone-marl slopes around Westhoffen in north Alsace. Demeter biodynamic, dry, structured.

Off Dry · Full-bodied · High acidity · Elegant

Domaine Saint-Remy's Hengst Pinot Gris from calcareous-marl slopes above Wintzenheim. Biodynamic Demeter, lightly off-dry.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Emile Beyer's Pfersigberg Riesling from limestone slopes above Eguisheim. Biodynamic, dry, structured.

Off Dry · Full-bodied · Medium acidity · Elegant

Ernest Burn's Clos Saint Imer is a walled monopole inside Grand Cru Goldert. The Gewurztraminer is the maison's flagship aromatic white.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Frederic Mochel's Altenberg de Bergbieten Riesling from marl-gypsum slopes in north Alsace. The family is a long-established landholder on this Grand Cru.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Gustave Lorentz's Altenberg de Bergheim Riesling from calcareous slopes above Bergheim. Organic, dry, structured.

Dry · Medium-bodied · High acidity · Elegant

Grossi Laue (Alsatian for 'great growth') is Hugel's bottling from their oldest plots in Schoenenbourg and Pflostig. Dry, stony, structured, built to age.

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

Hugel's serious Pinot Noir, named for the cousins of the 13th-generation family, sourced from old plots around Riquewihr and Hunawihr. Burgundian register with Alsace lift.

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.

Dessert · Full-bodied · Medium acidity · Elegant

Botrytised Gewurztraminer at near-Sauternes ripeness, made only in noble-rot vintages. Saffron honey, candied rose and an apricot-jam palate.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Jean Francois Ginglinger's Pfersigberg Riesling from limestone slopes above Eguisheim. Biodynamic, dry, structured.

Off Dry · Full-bodied · Medium acidity · Elegant

Jean-Marie Haag's Zinnkoepfle Gewurztraminer from south-Alsace limestone hill. Concentrated rose, lychee and ginger with a saline mineral lift.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Josmeyer's Brand Grand Cru Riesling from steep granite above Turckheim. Concentrated and saline with the family's signature precision.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Josmeyer's Hengst Riesling from calcareous-marl above Wintzenheim. Slower-developing, herbal and limestone-driven.

Off Dry · Full-bodied · Medium acidity · Elegant

Kuentz-Bas's flagship Gewurztraminer from Eichberg above Eguisheim. Concentrated rose and lychee with the cuvee's saline mineral lift; biodynamic since 2007.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Kuentz-Bas's Pfersigberg Riesling from limestone slopes above Eguisheim. Dry, structured, saline; biodynamic in the new-ownership era.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium acidity · Elegant

Beyer's mid-tier dry Gewurztraminer from Eguisheim-area plots. The accessible step below the Comtes d Eguisheim flagship; bone dry in the house style.

Dry · Full-bodied · Medium acidity · Elegant

Beyer's flagship dry Gewurztraminer from Pfersigberg-area plots. Rose, lychee and white pepper, but unusually dry and structured for the grape.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Beyer's flagship Riesling, sourced from old vines on the Pfersigberg slopes around Eguisheim. Steely, dry, mineral; built for a long cellar.

Off Dry · Full-bodied · Medium acidity · Elegant

Leon Boesch's biodynamic Zinnkoepfle Gewurztraminer. Concentrated rose and lychee from one of the highest Alsace Grand Crus.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Leon Boesch's Zinnkoepfle Riesling from south-facing limestone-marl slopes above Westhalten. Biodynamic Demeter, dry and structured.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Lucien Albrecht's Pfingstberg Riesling from sandstone-marl slopes around Orschwihr. The maison is a long-established Pfingstberg landholder.

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.

Dry · Medium-bodied · High acidity · Elegant

Marc Kreydenweiss's Lerchenberg lieu-dit Pinot Gris from Andlau. Bone-dry, biodynamic, more austere than typical Alsace Pinot Gris.

Off Dry · Full-bodied · High acidity · Elegant

Marc Kreydenweiss's Moenchberg Pinot Gris from limestone slopes above Andlau. Concentrated, lightly off-dry, with the biodynamic register of the domaine.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Marc Kreydenweiss's Wiebelsberg Riesling from sandstone slopes above Andlau. The sandstone counterpart to Kastelberg's schist; lighter, more aerial.

Off Dry · Full-bodied · Medium acidity · Elegant

Marc Tempe's Mambourg Gewurztraminer, long-lees aged in old foudre. Demeter biodynamic; concentrated rose, lychee and honey.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Marc Tempe's Schoenenbourg Riesling, long-lees aged in old foudre. Biodynamic, structured by the marl-gypsum slope above Riquewihr.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Medium tannin · High acidity · Funky · Elegant

Marc Tempe's Pinot Noir from biodynamic vines around Zellenberg. Long-aged on lees in old foudre, Burgundian-register Alsace red.

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.

Off Dry · Medium-bodied · High acidity · Elegant

Deiss's complanted Burg lieu-dit, on calcareous slopes around Bergheim, recently included in the Alsace Premier Cru list. A more accessible expression of the complanted style.

Off Dry · Medium-bodied · High acidity · Elegant

Deiss's complanted Langenberg from sunny calcareous slopes, Premier Cru tier. Riesling-led and more austere than Engelgarten.

Off Dry · Full-bodied · High acidity · Elegant

Marcel Deiss's flagship complanted Grand Cru, a field-blend of the Alsace noble grapes co-fermented on Mambourg's south-facing limestone. The estate's case for terroir over varietal.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Deiss's complanted Schoenenbourg above Riquewihr, marl-and-gypsum soils, Riesling-dominant. Cooler and more racy than Altenberg or Mambourg.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Melanie Pfister's Engelberg Riesling from northern Alsace limestone slopes near Dahlenheim. Biodynamic and bone-dry.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Felix Meyer's Wineck-Schlossberg Riesling from granite slopes above Katzenthal. Bright, racy, granite-driven.

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

Andre Ostertag's Pinot Blanc-Auxerrois from limestone-marl slopes, barrel-aged in old oak. Biodynamic, Demeter, almond-and-peach in a more serious register than typical Alsace Pinot Blanc.

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 · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Paul Blanck's Furstentum Riesling from old limestone vines (old vines, vieilles vignes). Concentrated and saline; one of the maison's flagship Grand Crus.

Off Dry · Full-bodied · Medium acidity · Elegant

Paul Blanck's Mambourg Gewurztraminer from south-facing limestone slopes above Sigolsheim. Concentrated and saline.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Paul Blanck's flagship Schlossberg Riesling from old vines on Kientzheim granite. The maison was the first to bottle Schlossberg as a single-vineyard wine from 1976.

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

Mure's serious Pinot Noir from the Clos Saint Landelin monopole on Vorbourg. The V is the cuvee bottled when Vorbourg-grown Pinot Noir warranted a Grand-Cru-quality cuvee, though officially labelled Alsace AOC.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Mure's Clos Saint Landelin is a monopole inside the Vorbourg Grand Cru, south of Colmar. The Riesling is concentrated, saline, structured by the cuvee's limestone-marl.

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

Jean-Pierre Rietsch's natural Zotzenberg Sylvaner. One of the few biodynamic natural bottlings of the only Alsace Grand Cru open to Sylvaner.

Off Dry · Medium-bodied · High acidity · Elegant

Rolly Gassmann's Kappelweg lieu-dit Riesling from Rorschwihr. Late-released with the maison's signature touch of residual sugar.

Off Dry · Full-bodied · Medium acidity · Elegant

Rolly Gassmann's Moenchreben lieu-dit Gewurztraminer from Rorschwihr. Concentrated and saline; the maison aged in cellar 4 to 6 years before release.

Sweet · Full-bodied · Medium acidity · Elegant

Cuvee Christine is Schlumberger's family-named Vendanges Tardives Gewurztraminer, sourced from Kessler and Kitterle parcels. Honeyed and floral, made only in warm vintages.

Off Dry · Full-bodied · Medium acidity · Elegant

Schlumberger's Kessler Gewurztraminer from sandstone slopes above Guebwiller, slightly off-dry in style. Rose, lychee and a ginger-spice register.

Dry · Medium-bodied · High acidity · Elegant

Schlumberger's flagship Kitterle Riesling from terraced sandstone vineyards above Guebwiller, often planted on slopes that need monorail access. Smoky, dry, structured.

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

Schoenheitz's Linsenberg Pinot Noir from Munster valley granite. The maison is the main producer working the upper Munster valley sub-zone.

Dry · Medium-bodied · High acidity · Elegant

Schoffit's Auxerrois from Rangen volcanic soil; one of the few Alsace producers who bottles single-cru Auxerrois rather than blending it as Pinot Blanc.

Off Dry · Full-bodied · High acidity · Elegant

Schoffit's volcanic Pinot Gris from Clos Saint Theobald. Concentrated, smoky, lightly off-dry; a distinctive Alsace Pinot Gris expression.

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.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Sipp Mack's Rosacker Riesling from limestone slopes above Hunawihr, the same Grand Cru that Trimbach's Clos Sainte Hune sits in.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Sylvie Spielmann's Altenberg de Bergheim Riesling from calcareous Bergheim slopes. Biodynamic, dry, structured; one of the rare female-run domaines in Alsace.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Jean-Louis Trapet's Schoenenbourg Riesling, an Alsace branch of the famous Gevrey-Chambertin family. Biodynamic, dry, structured; a Burgundian eye on Alsace.

Off Dry · Full-bodied · Medium acidity · Elegant

Jean-Louis Trapet's Sporen Gewurztraminer from clay-rich slopes above Riquewihr. Biodynamic, concentrated rose, lychee and ginger with the cuvee's saline lift.

Sweet · Full-bodied · Medium acidity · Elegant

Late-harvested Gewurztraminer at high natural ripeness, produced only in warm vintages. Honeyed apricot and lychee with the trademark rose-petal lift.

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

Trimbach's serious Pinot Noir from old-vine Mambourg-area sources, made in a Burgundian register since the warm vintages of the late 2000s opened ripening windows in Alsace.

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

Valentin Zusslin's Bollenberg Pinot Noir from south-facing limestone slopes above Orschwihr. Biodynamic, Burgundian-register Alsace red.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Valentin Zusslin's Clos Liebenberg monopole Riesling, on south-facing limestone above Orschwihr. Biodynamic and structured, with the salinity of a hillside-walled vineyard.

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

Valentin Zusslin's biodynamic Cremant Rose, made from 100 percent Pinot Noir. Salmon-pink, long-lees ageing, more serious than a typical Cremant rose.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Zusslin's Pfingstberg Grand Cru Riesling from sandstone-marl slopes around Orschwihr. Biodynamic, dry, structured for the cellar.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Stoeffler's Kirchberg de Barr Riesling from limestone slopes around Barr. Biodynamic, dry, with the cru's clay-limestone weight.

Dry · Medium-bodied · High acidity · Elegant

Stoeffler's Klevener de Heiligenstein, a rare Alsace-only appellation for Savagnin Rose grown around five communes near Barr. Aromatic but more restrained than Gewurztraminer.

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.

Off Dry · Full-bodied · Medium acidity · Elegant

Weinbach's flagship Gewurztraminer from old vines on Furstentum's limestone slopes, named for one of Colette Faller's daughters. Concentrated, aromatic, structured.

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

Cuvee Theo, named for Theo Faller, is Weinbach's Alsace AOC Riesling, sourced from the Clos des Capucins vineyards around the domaine in Kientzheim.

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 · Elegant

Wunsch et Mann's Hengst Riesling from calcareous-marl above Wettolsheim. Dry, mineral, structured.

Dry · Medium-bodied · Racy acidity · Elegant

Zind-Humbrecht's Brand Grand Cru Riesling from steep granite slopes above Turckheim. Warm-site fruit with sharp granite mineral lift; richer than Hauserer, drier than Windsbuhl.

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.

Off Dry · Full-bodied · High acidity · Elegant

Zind-Humbrecht's Clos Saint Urbain Rangen Pinot Gris, full-bodied and lightly off-dry. Honeyed pear, smoke and volcanic mineral grip.

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.

Off Dry · Full-bodied · High acidity · Elegant

Zind-Humbrecht's limestone-driven Pinot Gris monopole, lightly off-dry, structured by altitude and Muschelkalk.

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.

Off Dry · Full-bodied · Medium acidity · Elegant

Zind-Humbrecht's Hengst Gewurztraminer from calcareous-marl slopes above Wintzenheim. Power, concentration and a saline-honey core.