Die Lage Engelgarten in der Nähe von Bergheim, mit ihrem kargen Sandboden und den schwachwüchsigen Reben, gehört zu den leichteren Böden im Lagenportfolio von Marcel Deiss. Der im Mischsatz (Riesling, Pinot gris, Beurot, Muskat und Pinot Noir) gepflanzte und biodynamisch bewirtschaftete Weinberg liefert das Traubenmaterial für einen unserer Lieblingsweine aus dem Elsass. Die Tauben werden schon im Weinberg selektiert. Eine sehr langsame und schonende Ganztraubenpressung ergibt einen Most, der nicht mehr vorgeklärt werden muss. Die alkoholische Gärung kann schon einmal ein ganzes Jahr dauern. Danach reifen die Weine in großen Holzfässern und auf der Hefe liegend ihrem Höhepunkt entgegen. Besonders der Engelgarten aus dem Jahr 2004, ist uns mit seiner einzigartigen Art im Gedächtnis geblieben. Am Anfang gibt er nur wenig von sich Preis. Limetten Aromatik, kalkige Mineralik, straff am Gaumen und mit unglaublicher Spannung. Nach und nach entwickelt er Aromen von Orangenzeste und Honig, die Nase wird von Stunde zu Stunde komplexer und tiefer. Die Kombination aus feiner Frucht, mineralischen Nuancen und glasklarer Struktur, machen den 2004´er Engelgarten zu einem Ausnahmewein.
Artikel getaggt mit Elsass
My beloved Alsace
Dez 6
France – the first thoughts that spring to mind are Paris and her Eifel Tower, fresh baguette whilst barging down the Rhône, the Louvre and Mona Lisa’s smile, a French painter on a street corner wearing a black beret, the majestic Sacré-Cœur basilica and for many a wine-lover, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Champagne…
If ever one mentioned “Alsace”, I would never have known what this was or where this was, until recently.
I had the amazing opportunity of visiting the Alsace region of France in the late summer of 2009. Alsace is situated on the eastern border of France and on the west bank of the upper Rhine adjacent to Germany and Switzerland. Not just one of the politically most important regions of the European Union due to the seat of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, but due to its incredible wines.
“Alsace” in English or French or “Elsass” in German, is derived from German and means “Seated on the Ill”, the river Ill being an important river in this region. This region has historically always been an area of tug-of-war between France and Germany and has many times exchanged hands over the years, now to finally become French once again. Due to this remarkable history, Alsace today remains an incredible mix of both German and French cultures and prominent features of both these countries can be seen in the everyday lives of the Alsatians, in the architecture and simply in the “flair” that is Alsace!
This remarkably beautiful area has a wonderful climate of cold and dry winters and hot and sunny summers, making it ideal for producing vin d’Alsace (Alsatian wine). Being a very hilly region and having a remarkable diversity in terroirs, Alsace produces fantastic, mostly white wines, with a strong Germanic influence and some of the world’s most noted dry Riesling wines and is also the only region in France to produce mostly varietal wines, making for some fantastically interesting wines!
Château’s such as Haut Brion, Margaux, Lafite or Latour, are names that even the non-wine experts or lovers straightaway recognize and how many of us can honestly visit such grand estates? Not many of us can afford such costly pleasures such as a 1989 Château Petrus Bordeaux, 1982 Château Mouton-Rothschild or a phenomenal bottle of 1961 Château Latour. These are all “holy” names in the world of wine, but how many people know of estates such as Domaine Marcel Deiss or Domaine Marc Kreydenweiss? The latter two wine estates, or Domaines in French, are two of the incredible wine estates that I was lucky enough to visit whilst on my short-stay in Alsace and who do offer affordable prices for the down-to-earth wine enjoyer or even the best connoisseur.
I have visited many wines estates throughout the world, be it Old-World or New-World, but of all these estates, none left such an impression as did Domaine Marc Kreydenweiss. A beautifully rustic half-timbered white house with red wooden window shutters and blue flower boxes, situated on a narrow street in the quaint little village of Andlau, immediately made me feel at home as there was no artifice or pretentiousness as can be found at many wine estates. We were welcomed by a very friendly young woman who could speak English, German and French fluently, which was a great bonus for our party consisting of two Germans and three South Africans. I have never so enjoyed a wine tasting as I did on this day! Our hostess went to a great deal of trouble in letting us taste 8 magnificent wines.
The best part of the wine tasting was the fact that she explained each and every wine in detail to us. Using a map, she showed us on which slopes the vineyards are situated on and what terroir they grow on. Using rock samples, we were able to see exactly what she was referring to when she explained about granite soil or sandstone soil. Every question we asked was answered in both English and German and left absolutely no grey areas of uncertainty. We were spoilt in a 2 hour wine tasting some of the finest white wines I have ever sampled!
Amongst these wines were the 2006 Clos Rebberg Riesling, 2005 and 2006 Clos Rebberg Pinot Gris, 2006 Clos du Val d´Eleon, 2007 La Fontaine aux Enfants Pinot Blanc, 2007 Andlau Riesling and 2008 Kritt Gewürztraminer and 2007 Kritt Klevner. For someone coming from South Africa and being well acquainted with the heavy tannins of South African red wines and the woody Chardonnays, this was a totally new experience of bouquets such as I have never known. Roses, wild flowers and honey notes set off by slate and shale minerals, jasmine, Mediterranean herbs and even hints of kelp-iodine, an absolute adventure for even the most ignorant of wine drinkers. This experience certainly opened up my eyes to a brand new world of wines and I do not think I will easily be able to shake this off!
We felt so at ease and so competently informed that we did in fact not want to leave! Our party consisted of 2 people who know quite a bit about wines and three who have almost no clue to be honest, but after leaving this wine tasting, all 5 of us felt that we now really understood so much more about wines and each and every little detail that influences the stunning wine that we enjoy at the end of the day! All we can say is that Marc Kreydenweiss wines are an incredible experience and a wine tasting with the woman who took her time with us, is an unforgettable experience that will remain with me for as long as I live!
Our next visit was to the beautifully and vividly floral village of Bergheim and to the fantastic Domaine Marcel Deiss, which was set in a very modern and exquisite building on the edge of Bergheim. Here we were welcomed by a very friendly and multi-lingual gentleman. The surroundings at Marcel Deiss were very modernized and did lack the rustic feel of Alsace, but nonetheless, the wine tasting here too was an unforgettable experience. Here too did the gentleman explain in detail to us the methods of wine making and the terroirs which influence these fantastic wines and we truly felt that we became part of this exquisite region, even if only for a day or two. Here we had yet another pleasurable experience of tasting brilliant masterpieces of wine making whilst tasting wines such as Burlenberg, Langenberg, Engelgarten, Rotenberg, Schoffweg, Grasberg and Burg.
On returning to our quaint residence set amongst beautifully painted houses, narrow streets and flower boxes overflowing with a myriad of colours in the medieval village on Ribeauville, we strolled down the streets and almost back in time and felt as if we truly were in medieval times, especially when confronted with a voluptuous pot-bellied truffle pig which was out on an evening stroll in the streets. The friendliness of the Alsatians, the rustic air no matter where one visited and the “Joie de vivre” that one cannot miss, along with the incredible wine tasting experiences we had, will forever be embedded into my heart and mind and I hope to return to my beloved Alsace again soon!
Joléne
