2017 Ostertag Riesling 'Les Jardins'

Domaine Ostertag

France / Alsace / Domaine Ostertag

The Vins de Fruit are wines that emphasise the grape's expression rather that a specific terroir expression. They are not limited to a single site or soil type, and instead embody the intricate parcellation and diversity of Alsatian terroirs that exist even in a small area like a single village.
The Riesling Les Jardins results from a blend of twelve different plots located around the winery, essentially in the village of Epfig. The soils are varied: clay, sandstone, sand and volcanic sediments. These are farmed biodynamically. Most plots are located on gentle slopes with light soils, and it also contains a varying amount of declassified lieu-dit or grand cru fruit.
Ostertag looks for an unpretentious, youthful, fruit-driven wine that captures the personality of the village's terroirs, which are dominantly based on sandstone. They give the wine a particularly delicate, aromatic and mouthwatering character.
The 2017 was hand-picked on 19th and 29th September. It was gently whole bunch-pressed in a pneumatic press over about nine hours. It fermented in stainless steel with natural yeasts, and was kept on its lees for one year. It was bottled early September 2018 with a balance of 13% alcohol and 5g/L of residual sugar.
The result is a delicate Riesling driven by white flowers, white peach and vine blossom aromas. The mouth is round and mouthwatering, with fine and long acidity, and a saline character through the finish.

April, 2019

Mike Bennie

The Wine Front

94 points

Whiffs of honey lemon tea, lemon blossom, ripe apple, honeycomb. Lots going on in bouquet. Palate is powerful, full flavoured, rich with honeyed notes but rides on chewy -chalky pucker too. It’s a driving force of riesling here, detailed and complex. It’s got the goods.

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About Domaine Ostertag

Domaine Ostertag is clearly one of the most dynamic producers in Alsace, and certainly one the highest rated. Where in many areas Alsace has fallen behind star producers in Germany and Austria, Ostertag is one that bucks this trend. This is a family-run property comprising 12 hectares spread over more than 75 small plots of vines within five villages: Epfig (55%); Nothalten (34%); Itterswiller (4%); Ribeauvillé (6%); and Albé (1%).
Biodynamism was extended to 100% of the domaine in 1998, precluding any use of herbicides, chemical fertilisers and insecticides. All viticultural work is done manually, including harvest. In the cellar, press cycles are long and gentle, fermentations are long and conducted with indigenous yeasts, and wines are left on their lees. Barrels are used for Pinot Blanc, Gris (sometimes) and Pinot Noir. Arthur Ostertag, whose involvement deepened with the 2015 harvest, effectively assumed the helm from his father in 2018. Arthur's instincts and sensitivity mirror those of his passionate and free-thinking father, and we believe these wines have never been better.
Biodynamic producer

About

Arthur Ostertag's grandfather founded the domaine back in 1966 and handed the keys to the cellar to André Ostertag in 1980, when the latter was just 21. André has always seen wine as a language that speaks to the senses of sight, smell, taste and touch - and one that calls upon the grower's critical faculties, as well as memory (and memories). His winemaking is a "very soft process" that relies on preserving the living matter - slowly shaping the wine over a long time. Assuming control in 2018 - and with two generations still at his side - Arthur embodies this same approach. The Jardins range is a gracefully evocative introduction to the nature of the family's plots of vines, while Arthur continues to honour the spirit of observation and experimentation with occasional bottlings such as L'Éxutoire and Les Aventures de l'Agneau Masqué. At the top of the tree, the grand cru Muenchberg and lieu-dit bottlings balance sensuality and precision with peerless brilliance.