Winemaker Notes
#45 wine in VinePair's Top 50 of 2018
Pale, bright straw yellow with aromas of lemon peel, honeyed fruit and menthol on the nose. Ripe, supple and rich, yet lean and precise with excellent mineral character. This elegant Riesling, dry and precise, is a worthy accompaniment to a wide variety of dishes especially shellfish and white meats.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
A lovely, mouthwatering white, with a minerally nose and undertow and finely knit flavors of white peach, crushed pine, lemon wax and blanched almond. Long and creamy on the racy finish. Drink now through 2030. 300 cases imported.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Riesling Réserve comes mostly from low-yielding old vines on limestone soils in and around Ribeauvillé. The 2015 opens with a clear, fine, precise and spicy/mineral nose with lemon flavors. Intense, round and juicy on the palate, this is an elegant, quite complex and persistently salty Riesling with good structure and a gastronomic phenolic grip.
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.
Small but mighty, this picturesque region in northeastern France is renowned for its white wines produced by passionate families whose winemaking roots span generations and even centuries. Nestled between the Vosges Mountains and the Rhine River, Alsace benefits from a sunny, dry climate and a long growing season. It is one of the most geologically diverse regions in the world — one of the many reasons why Alsace rocks!
Alsace wines include dry, mineral-driven Riesling, earthy Pinot Gris, refreshing Pinot Blanc, exuberant Gewurztraminer, elegant Pinot Noir, and more. From traditional-method sparkling wines to easy-drinking AOC Alsace, to complex Grand Cru bottlings from 51 distinct sites, and rich, late harvest wines, Alsace produces a wine for every occasion. Most Alsace wines are single-varietal bottlings and are labeled with the grape name. The region is also one of the greenest wine-producing areas in France, with 36% of its vineyard area certified organic.
Riesling, the region’s calling card, is dry, fresh and floral in its youth, developing complex mineral and flint character with age. Gewurztraminer is known for its signature spice and lychee aromatics. Pinot Gris is prized for its combination of crisp acidity and savory spice as well as ripe stone fruit flavors. Pinot Blanc is an affable food partner or porch sipper. Pinot Noir, the only red grape in AOC Alsace, is now authorized in three Grand Cru areas and is also used for Crémant d’Alsace sparkling rosé. Any bottle you choose will offer deliciousness, pleasure and value that is unprecedented in other wine regions.