2008 Riesling Steinacker, Louis Sipp

It is easy to make the false assumption that a terroir in Alsace need to have an ancient history to produce good wines. However, only few lieux-dits formed after the last glaciation have a strong reputation. These are Herrenweg (notable farmed by Zind-Humbrecht), Clos des Capucins (the vineyard surrounding domaine Weinbach) and Steinacker (of Ribeauvillé). The wines from these soils offer may not be the most complex, but are full of pure pleasure.

2008 Riesling Steinacker from Louis Sipp in Ribeauvillé is medium golden yellow. It has a already a surprisingly developed, rich aroma with petrol, honey, oranges and yellow apples. The taste is medium-bodied with plenty of fruit, a fresh and clean acidity and a certain astringency of grapefruit peel in the finish. A charmer with many qualities. Price: €10.

2007 Riesling Grand Cru Pfersigberg, Bruno Sorg

Year after year, François Sorg, son of Bruno, puts out a range of pure, complex, lovely wines that are great illustrations of their terroir. The top-range Rieslings are made from Grand Cru Florimont in Ingersheim and Grand Cru Pfersigberg in Eguisheim. While the former defines purity and elegance, the latter defines complexity and minerality. However, they share the two most important features of any wine of quality - personality and balance.

2007 Riesling Grand Cru Pfersigberg from Bruno Sorg in Eguisheim offers complex, superb and deep aromas of grapefruit, rubber, coffee, ripe exotic fruits and - more importantly - the soils of Eguisheim just after rain. The taste has a trace of bitterness, loads of mature fruit and mouthwatering acidity, but most of all the structure and minerality are first class. A Riesling just like I want it. Price: €11.

2008 Pinot Blanc Saint-André, Rémy Gresser

Along with Val d'Agly in Roussillon,  Alsace has the most complex geology in the whole of France and thus in the world. The youngest soils are formed by sand, gravel and stone were deposited from running meltwater that formed deep river beds by the end of the last glaciation 10 000 years ago. Apart from the sheer granite, the oldest soils consist of shale that is approximately 450 million years old! And no other soil type gives such an amazing combination of ripeness, texture, freshness, elegance and finesse that shale!

2008 Pinot Blanc Saint-André from Rémy Gresser in Andlau has an amazingly complex nose, with orange, bay leaves, anise, smoke and ripe butter-pear. The taste is medium bodied, silky and elegant with soothing fruit that is in perfect harmony with a racy, good acidity that is not the least aggressive. Price: € 7.

2007 Pinot Gris, Agathe Bursin

Les Divine d'Alsace is an association of female winemakers in Alsace. Besides Agathe Bursin, Melanie Pfister (DahlenHeim), Dominique Schoenheitz (Wihr-au-Val), Veronique Muré (Rouffach), Marie Zusslin (Orschwihr) and Sylvie Spielmann (Bergheim) and many others are among the members. Maybe it's my imagination, but I have never tasted a heavy, sticky or sloppy wine from one of them. Least of all from Agatha Bursin, who with almost pedantic care makes small masterpieces from all grape varieties.


2007 Pinot Gris from Agatha Bursin in Westhalten has scents of almond, clementine, ripe but not dried apricots, revieling grape material that is perfectly healthy. The taste is medium bodied, with zesty acidity and a long finish packed with clean, ripe fruit. A very well made wine with a long life ahead of it. Price: € 9www.alsace-wine.net/p/bursin.shtml

2009 Pinot Gris Grand Cru Furstentum, Albert Mann

Furstentum is a heterogeneous Grand Cru located  high above the village Kientzheim due west of Colmar. Although the vineyard is located in due south, Furstentum has an ideal microclimate. Here,  the two families who constitute the firm Albert Mann, Maurice and Jacky Barthelme with wives, make biodynamic Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer of remarkable class and quality. Furthermore, all products, from the popular "Edelzwicker" Senteurs des Vignes to the Grand Cru wines from Pfersigberg, Hengst, Schlossberg, Steingrubler and Furstentum are crafted with incredible skill and typical of their terroir.

2009 Pinot Gris Grand Cru Furstentum from Albert Mann in Wettolsheim has a golden, brilliant color. The aroma is wonderfully fresh with apricot, smoke and toffee. The taste is rich and complex with a velvety elegance and very good structure, whereas the fresh acid easily carries the sweetness and adds to the eternal aftertaste. Price: € 20 

2008 Pinot Noir Barrique, Clément Lissner

There are many wine lovers who turn away from "modern" alcohol-fueled, overly extracted wines that go directly from the youthful austerity to over-the-hill. There is a new ideal emerging of elegance and complexity where the terroir is allowed to shine through. It is on this segment that Pinot Noir from Alsace has a, increasingly promising, future.

2008 Pinot Noir from Clément Lissner in Wolxheim has a bright cherry red color. The aroma is smooth with vanilla, tar, black cherry, chocolate and licorice.
The taste is medium bodied, silky and elegant with ripe fruit that has wonderful fresh acidity, a distinctive minerality and a light, elegant finish, with subtle and mature tannins and good length. A harmonious wine that probably developed during 10 years. I wish I had more bottles. € 9.

2005 Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Spiegel, Dirler-Cadé

Organic wines is on  march across France, especially in Alsace. Those who work organically, without using synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, can be certified in accordance with AB, Agriculture Biologique, by Ecocert. Those who also works biodynamically may be certified as Demeter or Biodyvin. Dirler-Cadé makes superb wines from the Grands Crus Spiegel, Saering, Kessler and Kitterlé and is certified in accordance with AB and Biodyvin.

2005 Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Spiegel from Dirler-Cadé in Bergholtz has a complex aroma of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, white raisins, red apples and ripe stone fruits. The taste is just over medium bodied with a caressing sweetness that is perfectly  balanced by the ample acidity, and a superb length with complex fruit intermingled with a refreshing minerality. Price: €20.