Domaine Dirler-Cade Cremant d'Alsace Brut Nature 2017
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Combines body and a vertical freshness. A fine bouquet of pears, white flowers and toasted almonds. Tasty, saline with tension and a long finish on citrus flavors. Goes perfectly with dishes or as an aperitif.
Blend: 60% Pinot Gris, 30% Auxerrois, 10% Riesling
Other Vintages
2018-
Suckling
James
-
Suckling
James
Domaine Dirler-Cadé is one of the finest domaines of Alsace with almost half of the vines in the Grand Crus as well as plots in five lieux-dites. Dirler-Cadé represented by Jean and Ludvine Cadé, the joining of two Alsace winegrowing families under one house. The vineyards are certified organic and biodynamic, and the wines are just as fitting in Michelin three-star restaurants as they are at natural wine fairs. The Rieslings, Sylvaners, Pinot Gris, and Gewürztraminers are all exceptional, but the domaine has also been celebrated for their Crémant d'Alsace Brut and Brut Rosé.
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
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.