An Introduction to Alsace, with Catherine Owen

Berry Bros & Rudd, London
Tasted Friday, October 4, 2013 by Papies with 612 views

Introduction

The Oxbridge of wine tasting as we say. This time Catherine Owen, a self confessed Alsace aficionado, presented a flight of wines to explain the different grapes, styles and wine makers of the area.

Flight 1 - The Welcome (1 Note)

  • NV Berry Bros. & Rudd Champagne Grand Cru UK Cuvée (Mailly) 90 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    100% from grand cru vineyards. Quite mature, round and full champagne. Nice rich round mouth feel and quite long. Firm with good acidity too. To be honest this is a lot better than most NV from the grand marques. 90 and worth the money.

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Flight 2 - Welcome to Alsace (13 Notes)

  • 2011 Domaine Ostertag Sylvaner Vieilles Vignes 85 Points

    France, Alsace

    40yr+ old vines here, and part of the "Vin de Fruits" range, in a way his entry level showing purely the fruit and using no oak. Fresh floral nose, white flowers in a way. A sweet undertone on the nose. Citrus notes. Very aromatic. High in acidity, medium bodied wine, few bitter notes at time. A touch of creamy texture. Drink sooner as this is for early drinking. Not very memorable. 85

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  • 2011 Lucas & André Rieffel Pinot Blanc Vieilles Vignes 85 Points

    France, Alsace

    50-60yr old vines here. 100% stainless steel. Pale yellow in colour. Mild nose but with intensity. A touch of paradox that defines the grape in a way. Light in body and on the weak side. Not much to talk abt here. 84-86.

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  • 2010 Lucas & André Rieffel Pinot Gris Hagel 88 Points

    France, Alsace

    Quite a lot of substance in this wine. Matured on lees.The use of old oak really adds to the wine and this is among the good examples of how oak use can complement the wine rather than define/dominate. The nose is fuller, richer (especially compared to the Pinot Blanc we tried before). Quite a lot of intensity and length. Nice rich refreshing feel. 88

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  • 2010 Lucas & André Rieffel Pinot Noir Kreuzel 82 Points

    France, Alsace

    Young vines here on a grand cru slope. Should be served chilled in our mind. Very sweet on the nose, almost medicinal, cough syrup. Cherries, red fruits here. Mild medium body but the issue is that unbalanced sweetness that runs around this wine that makes it difficult to enjoy. 82

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  • 2010 Domaine Ostertag Pinot Noir Fronholz 86 Points

    France, Alsace

    40 year old vines here and designated a "vin de pierre" bottling so more cuvee in theory. A little new oak is used here which helps and adds to the wine and is evident on the nose. Light earthy notes. The wine is young and could use some cellaring time (2-3 years more) . Nice elegance to it and structure. Not very memorable though. 85-87

    In general although we are not the biggest fans of his wines, we are impressed by his use of oak which is always a positive add on rather than a dominating element. If only other would follow along this path.

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  • 2010 Trimbach Riesling Reserve 87 Points

    France, Alsace

    Light petrol nose, limes, grapefruit notes. Full on dry wine with very little residual sugar. Good acidity, light glycerine texture on the palate but also with a few bitter edges. Light chalky feel on the palate. This definitely needs more time to develop. 87 for now.

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  • 2006 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile 91 Points

    France, Alsace

    Made from 2 grand cru vineyards and this is a private reserve cuvee. From a difficult vintage that was 2006. Quite a bit of colour on this. Lots of petrolly notes on the nose. Light minerality and a touch of honey too. Good wine and with good weight. time will only help here. 91 for now.

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  • 2010 Domaine Weinbach Riesling Schlossberg Cuvée Ste. Catherine 93 Points

    France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

    Proper wine and hats off to Madame Faller! From a difficult year like 2010, with very low yields. Grand Cru vineyard here shows its quality. Pale gold colour. More honey notes with every the lightest touch of that petrolly side of Riesling. Lime, grapefruit notes. Full on the palate, dry, good acidity but also with a lovely rich full side. Amazing length here and for us this was the WOTN and for sure we would look for more weinbach wines. Still very young and will only improve from here but a solid 93 now.

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  • 2010 Domaine Ostertag Gewurztraminer Epfig 83 Points

    France, Alsace

    Full on lychee nose, a touch too much to be honest. Very sweet with 52 g of residual sugar. Almost like a sweet lychee juice rather than a wine. On the unbalanced sweetness side. 83

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  • 2002 Rolly Gassmann Gewurztraminer Stegreben de Rorschwihr 88 Points

    France, Alsace

    Quite a bit of colour here. Aged in large oak barrels. Off dry wine. The nose is restrained, not a very gewurtz nose. Good sharp backbone balances the sweetness, very fresh, good acidity. Good roses on the palate brings back the gewurtz feeling. A pretty wine. 88 from us

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  • 2005 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Clos Windsbuhl Vendange Tardive 91 Points

    France, Alsace

    the colour and nose immediately point to a sweet rich wine (if the Vendage Tardive on the label didn't give it away that is..). Honey notes. The palate is full on rich with quite a bit of residual sugar. Still well made and balanced wine with a solid structure, waxy, glycerine texture. Very well made and one that will definitely improve with time. 91-92 for now.

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  • 2000 Rolly Gassmann Riesling Kappelweg de Rohrschwihr Vendanges Tardives 91 Points

    France, Alsace

    Light petrolly on the nose. Focussed, "crisp" for a vendage tardive wine. Quite balanced on the acidity vs sweetness front and this is a very enjoyable wine. A touch of bitterness at times. Unfortunatelyw e had a bit a palate fatigue by the time we got to this wine so the note is not of our best quality.. still a very solid and enjoyable wine. 91-92 easy

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  • 2001 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile Sélection de Grains Nobles 94 Points

    France, Alsace

    From half bottle. Even after a long flight of wines and we admit some palate fatigue, this shown through. Good colour. Light nose with a light touch of petrol. We expected this to be heavy, stick, thick but to the contrary, this had a lovely lightness to it. Deep and rich, complex, but without been heavy and sticky. Lots of intensity, fresh and with a lot of time to go. Pretty solid, beautiful wine. 94+

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