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Domaine Jean-Marc Bernhard
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Riesling Wineck Schlossberg
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Grand
Cru |
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This is a small, family-owned property located in the foothills
of the Vosges Mountains, just northeast of Colmar in the little
burg of Katzenthal. They produce wine from Riesling, Tokay Pinot
Gris and Gewurztraminer grapes on their terroir of granite-based
soils. The wines in general are crisp, clean, fruity and fragrant,
and very well balanced with slightly lower alcohol levels (12-13%)
than their more southerly neighbors. As most Alsatian vignerons,
their wines, excepting the vendange tardive wines, are vinified
dry.
The Wineck-Schlossberg Grand Cru vineyard produces wines from
both the Riesling and the Gewurztraminer grapes but the Riesling
truly shines here. Topped by the ruins of an ancient castle,
the steeply sloped vineyards face south and southeast and are
composed mainly of decomposed, mica-rich granite mixed with
stones and clay. They are well protected by the high Vosges
Mountains that guarantee a dry and warm microclimate.
The wines produced from this terroir are noted for their
rich expression of fruit and floral aromas with just enough
underlying mineral notes to make the wines complex and immediately
enjoyable. This Grand Cru Riesling wine shows all the qualities
that one seeks in a great dry Riesling with the characteristic
mineral notes well tamed by the exuberant fruit and floral aromas.
Medium to full bodied, the flavors open up brightly on the palate
with a long and generous finish.
Though quite approachable now, this wine can easily age for
up to 10 years in a cool cellar for further development of its
rich qualities.
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Chicago,
Illinois |
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