Alsace Grand Cru OSTERBERG 2017 - Pinot Gris

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Fruity, rich pure and elegant.

Appellation:

Alsace Grand Cru OSTERBERG

Locality:

Osterberg, exclusively areas on the edge of Ribeauvillé. Hillsides facing East South-East at an altitude of 250 to 350 meters, and on average to steep slopes which benefit from excellent levels of sun. Osterberg is a well-known wine-growing area, mentioned in documents from the Middle Ages. The Lords of Ribeaupierre cultivated their vines there.

Type of soil:

The soils are rich in clay and small stones. The substratum is essentially composed of Muschelkalk with a moderate quantity of marl, and in the East of Lettenkohle with dolomitic chalks and multicoloured marls. The presence of dolomitic chalk and thus of dolomie induces some water storage capacity in the soil. This water can be released progressively in case of dry and warm conditions and thus prevent the vines from suffering from lack of water. Furthermore, these vineyards oriented East South-East with high amount of clay are cooler than the Grand Cru Kirchberg. The expression of the wines is “harder” and more “austere” compared with the Kirchberg. Our vines are present in the deep and marly soils of the east as well as in the stony part in the west on the Grand Cru.

Certified organic grapes for an enhanced terroir expression:

Started in 2005, our conversion to organic production took a concrete form three years later in 2008 with the ECOCERT certification. Since 2012, all the cellar operations are also covered by the European specification so that we can now speak about organic wines.

Wine character:

Nice pale-yellow color. Expressive generous and complex nose on ripe fruit. Rich but not heavy on the palate like all the Grands Crus Osterberg. A pleasant gourmand balance with long persistence thanks to the support of the typical acidity of the Grand Cru Osterberg.

Tips for consuming:

This full bodied and structured wine is perfect with goose lever or some smoke fishes from Asiatic or Nordic recipes. Also, a good solution with desserts (without chocolate). Another way is to enjoy it for itself.
Ready for drinking now. Will get more complex after ageing. Our Grands Crus need time to rich their Apogee.

The 2017 vintage:

We had a relatively dry winter 2016-2017. The precipitations did not allow to regenerate the water resources of the soils. January was cold over a long period with temperatures down to -10°C. This was very positive for the structure of the soils.
Thanks to temperatures above average mid-March, the vines stated to grow quite early. Flowering went well. A nice summer reinforced the precocity of the vintage.
The key factors of the vintage are the small crops. This is related to a succession of problems that affected the production: frost, hail, drought (less than 250 mm rainfall from April to August), and finally wind. The addition of all these difficulties highly affected the yields. We had to face the smallest yields over decades.
The harvest started on September 7th in good conditions. The grapes were perfect. Thanks to ideal weather conditions it was possible to harvest each plot of the vineyard at the perfect moment without the pression of meteorological conditions.
The wines from 2017 are precise, elegant with a delicate but not invasive freshness. For sure a very nice vintage.