2016 Paul Blanck Patergarten Riesling

Paul Blanck

France / Alsace / Paul Blanck

A south-facing Kientzheim vineyard on gravel. The juice is extracted with infinite care in an air-bag press. The slow, gentle pressing avoids crushing the stalks and pips. The must starts fermenting of its own accord thanks to the natural yeast present in the juice, and the fermentation generally lasts from 4 to 10 weeks. It is carried out in stainless-steel vats equipped with temperature control, a medium which maximises the expression of this variety's aromas. The wine is matured on its lees in large barrels for 6 to 9 months. This lees-contact contributes richness to the wine. What is more, the oxygen which passes through the pores of the wood brings about a gentle oxidization of the wine, and the subsequent opening up of its aromas.
The wine is then bottled and matured for one- or two-years before being offered for sale. This bottle-ageing also plays a role in the wine's development. Here, the opposite of oxidisation happens: reactions in the oxygen-free environment bring about the development of the bouquet, and give it subtler nuances.
The wine is a beautiful pale yellow colour with green reflections. The nose shows peach and subtle flowers like stone fruit blossoms, with fresh fruits especially lemon. The palate is subtle but deep, broad and long, resplendent with grapefruit and superb minerality.

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About Paul Blanck

Originating in Austria, the Blanck family moved to the cultural melting pot that is Alsace centuries ago. It’s getting on for 200 years since this particular branch established a wine business in Kientzheim. Since the mid-1980s, cousins Frédéric and Philippe Blanck have been in control of the organic-certified estate, placing a sharp focus on the vines and the soil they grow in. They farm 24 hectares in total, with grands crus and highly prized lieux-dits accounts for more than two-thirds. Sometimes the brilliance of Alsace – its terroir and the spice, minerals, freshness and sweet fruit it delivers – gets overlooked by the wine-drinking world. There’s little chance of that happening with the Blancks around. “We wish to share with everyone the force and diversity of Alsace; the richness of the grape varieties and the joie de vivre of its people,” they say. And we’re very happy to be the ones to help them share it.

About

Along with his cousin, Philippe Blanck, Freddie took over the estate operation in the mid-1980s with a mission to create wines of pure pleasure for winelovers the world over. From the word go they have worked tirelessly to respect the vines and soil upon which they are planted. As they put it, “We wish to share with everyone the force and diversity of the Alsace ; the richness of the grape varieties and the joie de vivre of its people.”