Ostertag Fronholz Riesling 2016
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Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling
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Fronholz is André’s quartz-dominant terroir, and as the stone itself might suggest, it delivers cool, sleek, crystalline wines with focus and clarity, particularly with the noble Muscat and Riesling grapes. This Riesling can be drunk young or old. Young, it pairs beautifully with minimally prepared fish or crustacean dishes—toss in a little citrus to align the dish even better with the wine’s acidity.
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Wine Enthusiast
A closed nose gives little away but the palate reveals still tightly coiled layers of lemon freshness. Zesty purity suffuses the ultraclean palate and hints at an inner well of boundless lemon zest. This wine needs to develop but promises thrilling pleasure with its concentrated, whistle-clean and dry palate.
Cellar Selection -
James Suckling
Striking licorice and dried lemon peel on the nose. A bold and crisp wine with a lot of mineral character at the long and very dry finish. This will be quite challenging to pair with food, but it really is a special wine and not a jot too powerful. Drink or hold. Made from biodynamically grown grapes and Demeter certified.
Other Vintages
2019-
James
Suckling
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Wine
Enthusiast
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Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling
To call André Ostertag a revolutionary winemaker is to tell just half the story. He is a pioneer, certainly, but also an ardent environmentalist. After training in Burgundy, André returned to the family domaine in Alsace with renewed zeal: he lowered yields considerably and introduced viticultural and vinification techniques from other regions to his own home ground. He looks for the nuance of terroir rather than the typicity of a grape varietal. André rejects formulaic, scientifically engineered wines, and since going biodynamic in 1997, has been an active member of the natural farming community.
Riesling possesses a remarkable ability to reflect the character of wherever it is grown while still maintaining its identity. A regal variety of incredible purity and precision, this versatile grape can be just as enjoyable dry or sweet, young or old, still or sparkling and can age longer than nearly any other white variety. Somm Secret—Given how difficult it is to discern the level of sweetness in a Riesling from the label, here are some clues to find the dry ones. First, look for the world “trocken.” (“Halbtrocken” or “feinherb” mean off-dry.) Also a higher abv usually indicates a drier Riesling.
With its fairytale aesthetic, Germanic influence and strong emphasis on white wines, Alsace is one of France’s most unique viticultural regions. This hotly contested stretch of land running north to south on France’s northeastern border has spent much of its existence as German territory. Nestled in the rain shadow of the Vosges mountains, it is one of the driest regions of France but enjoys a long and cool growing season. Autumn humidity facilitates the development of “noble rot” for the production of late-picked sweet wines, Vendange Tardive and Sélection de Grains Nobles.
The best wines of Alsace can be described as aromatic and honeyed, even when completely dry. The region’s “noble” varieties, the only ones permitted within Alsace’s 51 Grands Crus vineyards, are Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Muscat, and Pinot Gris.
Riesling is Alsace’s main specialty. In its youth, Alsace Riesling is dry, fresh and floral, but develops complex mineral and flint character with age. Gewurztraminer is known for its signature spice and lychee aromatics, and is often utilized for late harvest wines. Pinot Gris is prized for its combination of crisp acidity and savory spice as well as ripe stone fruit flavors. Muscat, vinified dry, tastes of ripe green grapes and fresh rose petal.
Other varieties grown here include Pinot Blanc, Auxerrois, Chasselas, Sylvaner and Pinot Noir—the only red grape permitted in Alsace and mainly used for sparkling rosé known as Crémant d’Alsace. Most Alsace wines are single-varietal bottlings and unlike other French regions, are also labeled with the variety name.