Article from Opimian Cellar 312 – Chile, Argentia, Alsace and Languedoc
For a variety of reasons, Alsace may have been flying slightly under the radar on a few markets lately, but it has too much going for it for the status quo to persist.
Alsace occupies the northeastern corner of France and follows the border-marking Rhine River, known here as Rhin. The upper, more southerly Haut-Rhin sub-zone is responsible for some of the area’s best wines, vis-à-vis Bas-Rhin. Its natural continuation into Germany becomes Pfalz, and to its right are Baden and Black Forrest.
In many respects, the region has a lot of Germanic influence – in culture, cuisine, language, grapes selection, and wine labeling, as it was an alternating part of both counties, with the latest return to France dating to just after WWII. Until the early 2000s, it was the only region that had most of its AOC production labelled varietally before it became legal everywhere else in France.
Despite its northerly location, it actually enjoys great vine-growing conditions. The rain shadow of Vosges Mountains, whose slopes provide vineyards with elevation and a range of soils and aspects, makes it one of the driest areas in Europe and ensures a long growing season. Nearly the entire region’s production falls into the AOC/P category, AOC/P Alsace.
Its only red is Pinot Noir, but the region’s strength is its white grapes, which is reflected in the four best varieties identified as the Noble Grapes: Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, best of which are a benchmark style of the grape, and Muscat. These grapes – with a rare exception – are the only ones that qualify for Grand Cru AOC/P, if sourced from a number of the classified vineyards.
The region also offers a memorable Sylvaner and a range of other wines as single grapes, like Pinot Blanc, Chasselas, or in blends, as well as a refreshing sparkling Cremant. There are also AOC/Ps for late-harvest wines from Noble Grapes – Vendage Tardive and Selection de Grains Nobles.
The common denominator is that the wines are made to showcase the freshness and the varietal expression, if so labelled – still with the stamp of their provenance – but probably more so than in other parts of the country. Most often the table wines are dry to slightly off dry, and minerally. Best Rieslings feature quartz or sandstone, lemon or lime elements, with a fresh acidity and a good weight. Pinot Gris is subtler, with Brazil nut, oiliness and clay notes, a soft acidity and a broader mouthfeel. Gewurztraminer is highly aromatic – people love it or hate it – leaping from the glass with rosewater, linden blossom and ginger, has a low acidity, but just enough that combined with the slight bitterness it holds up the structure.
The wines here rarely see any new oak, and if any oak is used, it would be neutral, large-sized casks. The wines are delicious young, but many are very age-worthy, even the aromatic Muscat and Gewurz. And they are some of the best gastronomic wines out there, with Pinot Gris, IMHO, taking the prize for the most versatile food partner. That fits well with the regional cuisine – it has a range of rich and flavorful dishes rooted in Germanic tradition but with the French twist and refinement, and the region has a high concentration of Michelin-starred restaurants.
With all this said, it would seem prudent to take advantage of any opportunity to revisit this classic region to persist