The Vins de Fruit are wines that emphasise the grape's expression rather than 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 12 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 this Riesling also contains a varying amount of declassified lieu-dit or grand cru fruit.
We look for an unpretentious, youthful, fruit-driven wine that captures the personality of the village’s terroirs, which are predominantly based on sandstone. They give the wine a particularly delicate, aromatic and mouthwatering character.
All the plots of Riesling Les Jardins were harvested between 30th September and 2nd October. Despite a sunny 2019 vintage with little rain, the work to preserve the coolness in the vines worked because the ripening was very homogeneous.
The whole bunches were pressed very gently for around nine hours in a pneumatic press. The fermentation started spontaneously in stainless steel tank and was exclusively conducted by indigenous yeasts. It went through complete malolactic conversion like the other wines, and was aged on its lees for one year in the same tanks. It was bottled in early September 2019 with a balance of 13% alcohol and 2g/L of residual sugar – dry wine, certified organic and biodynamic.
The result is a delicate Riesling driven by white flowers, white peach and vine blossoms aromas. The mouth is round and mouthwatering, with a fine and long acidity, and a saline character on the finish. There is a real nobility in this graceful Riesling. It has a dimension close to the Vins de Pierre yet without reaching their density. - Arthur Ostertag