Le Sommelier Inc.

Certified Organic (ECOCERT) and Certified Biodynamic (Demeter)

Varietals: Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer

Soil type: This site, at an altitude of 280 m is located at the top of the hillock which bears the Grand Cru ALTENBERG on its south-facing slope. It has an east-facing exposure and lies on top of a layer of hard, compact limestone know as “Greater Oolithic”. The subsoil is rather shallow and light, very calcareous and of a reddish colour (iron), containing mainly coarse limestone blocks, but no clay at all. This soil is not very fertile as its incapacity to retain water is an impediment to good plant growth.

Tasting notes / Review: Great fruity white wine, very complex and long, marked by the poor limestone, where the vines have to dig deep to find the energy they need. The nose is an explosion of citrus jam, blood oranges and fresh mint leaves and precedes a taste that is entirely built on the tart energy of large very ripe citrus fruit. The length of the softer final note gives out uncommon vitality. This wine will go wonderfully with quality fish and all dishes that call for lemon. 

“An ethereal aroma of chamomile, gentian, honey, and herbal distillates in the 2004 Grasberg leads to a palate similarly brimming with floral and herbal as well as chalky mineral essence, citrus and honey. This finishes with wafting refinement and ravishing length. Much of the building material of Bergheim was quarried from this site, and one cannot help but imagine that this wine, too, will weather very slowly. Back in the days when Deiss harvested an extremely austere Riesling here, that wine nearly always, eventually, put on a terrific show. Now that there is a mix of vines suited to what he calls “the corset of this terroir” ... watch out!” 94 pts, erobertparker.com.

Grasberg