2009 Riesling Grand Cru Schlossberg, Jean-Marc et Frédéric Bernhard

All vintages of Alsace are very different. The reason  for the variations are obviously the weather, but mainly that quality producers do not manipulate their wines. If you harvest early, use standardized yeast, adjust the wine with acid or base, and use lots of sulfur the wines come out alike - and equally boring - year after year. 2009 vintage yielded wines that initially lacked elegance and had some bitterness. After 5 years, they have "come home" and finally developed a fine balance, even if the style will never be classic. But good.

2009 Riesling Grand Cru Schlossberg from Jean-Marc et Frédéric Bernhard in Katzenthal has a golden color. The aroma is rich and saturated with coffee, arrack, orange, ripe pineapple and peach puree. The palate is medium-bodied, powerful, somewhat hot and rich with sandy roughness, good acidity and very good balance. A wine with a substantial volume that manages to maintain its' equilibrium. Price: € 13.

Crémant Rosé, Jean-Marc et Frédéric Bernard

During Christmas, warm spicy wine stands in contrast to the French tradition to drink champagne. An excellent compromise is to drink Crémant Rosé, a delicious andd refreshing drink made from Pinot Noir. The wine is also part of a larger trend in Alsace, which is to make increasingly sophisticated Crémant on individual grapes (Chardonnay and Pinot Noir), drier styles (zéro dosage) and more and more single vintage editions.

Crémant Rosé (2011) by Jean-Marc et Frédéric Bernhard in Katzenthal is lovely salmon pink. The aroma is very fruity with ripe cherry, a splash of strawberries and a touch of toast. The palate is balanced and round with fresh acids that carries a some seductive sweetness (10 grams of residual sugar per liter). Delicious! Price: € 8.50.

Crémant, Jean-Marc Bernard

Crémant from Alsace is getting better and better. The raw material has historically consisted of still wine from Pinot Blanc and Auxerrois, but now Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are increasingly  used for France's most drunken sparkling wine. Chardonnay provides a lovely acid that allows long bottle aging and lees sur lattes. With bottle storage up to three years before degorgement producers such as Bernhard, Mader and Sorg make serious sparkling wine with lovely volume and mouth feel. The sugar added can scarcely be perceived.

Crémant from Jean-Marc Bernhard offers a fresh nose with brioche, yellow apples, quince and mineral. In the mouth, the wine has a fine mousse that does not feel bubbly. The palate is medium bodied, with lovely fruit, a lively acidity on the tongue and a rich aftertaste with a hint of grapefruit zest in the finish. The balance between volume and acidity make it a perfect match for food. Moreover, it is ridiculously cheap! Price: € 6.80.

2007 Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Mambourg, Jean-Marc & Frédéric Bernhard

Almost all the Grands Crus of Alsace are oriented to the south-east or due south. Warmest of all is the Grand Cru Mambourg, which rises  like a ski slope over Sigolsheim. Here the snow melts first, and the wines are most often rich, almost thick with a slightly burned and smoky character. Only the most skilled producers are able to master the power of Mambourg and bring out the finess and the minerality that the terroir offers.

2007 Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Mambourg by Jean-Marc and Frédéric Bernhard in Katzenthal is deep yellow. The aroma is extremely complex with plum, elderberry, dried fruits, flint, smoke, and a distinct toasty element as in a mature champagne. The taste is sumptuous and fruity with a hedonistic sweetness which is supported by wonderful acidity and a sandy minerality, supplemented by a slight bitterness in the finish. A bargain! Price: € 13.

2007 Riesling Grand Cru Wineck-Schlossberg, Jean-Marc Bernhard

Once, long ago, I thought Wineck-Schlossberg was a second-tier vinyard which at best gave crisp, fresh, but one-dimensional wines from its hard granite. Fish wines, in short. But Frédérick Bernhard has used his his wand to prove how wrong that assumption was. For each vintage his wines gain more and more of the substance, complexity and real terroir character.

2007 Riesling Grand Grand Cru Wineck-Schlossberg by Jean-Marc Bernhard in Katzenthal is yellow with a green stick. The nose is initially closed, but after an hour, wonderful aromas of apple, melon, pineapple and chalk burst out of the glass. The taste is medium bodied with excellent focus, high, vibrant acids and a complex and dense palate with grapefrukt in the long finish. Darn good. Price: € 12.

2008 Pinot Gris Terrasses Hinterburg, J-M Bernhard

In Katzenthal there are two lieux-dits that are easily confused: Hinterberg which is wedged inside Katzenthal, and Hinterburg which lies along the road from Katzenthal to Turckhiem. Both teroirs are very steep, and also relatively clayey even though they are on the granite (mica), and both are perfectly suited for Pinot Gris. Thanks to the good but not extreme exposure and medium-warm soil the grapes ripen without losing acidity. 


2008 Pinot Gris Terrasses Hinterburg from J-M Bernhard in Katzenthal smells of apricots, smoke and fresh mushrooms. The taste is just over medium bodied with embedded sweetness that is more than balanced by the lively, ripe acidity and a great backbone. Definitely deserves its 15/20 from La Revue du Vin de France. Price: € 8.

2007 Riesling Grand Cru Wineck-Schlossberg, Jean-Marc & Frédéric Bernhard

The scientific research on wine has revealed the chemical compounds which give certain aromatic characteristics of white wines. For instance, the characteristic smell of "petroleum" is caused by 1,1,6-trimethyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalen, a derivative of carotene also known as TDN. The scent of citrus and ginger, however, come largely from 3,7-dimethyl-2-octen-1-ol, a typical commercially available component that is widely used in perfumes. But still, it will take long until one can identify what lies behind the character of "minerality", you know where the hard, salty, fresh and dry lingering feeling in the mouth when drinking fine Riesling.

2007 Riesling Grand Cru Schlossberg-Wineck has a generous aroma of warm apples, cloves and sweet flowers. The taste is fruity, supple, rich and already complex with a minerality that remains half hour in the aftertaste. Wonderful and almost for free. Price: € 10.

2004 Muscat, Jean-Marc Bernhard

Alsace Muscat is fresh but fruity, dry but supple. It feels natural all the way, and matches salads and veggie dishes perfectly.

2004 Muscat from Jean-Marc Bernhard in Katzenthal has melon and almonds on the nose, while the tast adds spices such ginger, anis, cloves and a hint of bitterness. Price: €7.