Technical presentation
| Bottling : | August 2023 |
|---|---|
| Acquired alcohol : | 13.1 ° |
| Residual sugar : | 28.7 g/l |
| Total acidity : | 2.9 g/l H2SO4 (4.5 g/l Acide Tartrique) |
| pH : | 3.5 |
| Yield : | 47 hl/ha |
| Average age of vines : | 40 years |
| Grape variety : | Gewurztraminer |
| Sweetness index : | 3 |
| Soil : | Oolithic calcareous and marls siliceous |
Description of the wine Gewurztraminer Roche Calcaire 2022
Gewurztraminer can be a very tannic grape variety. Having a natural lower acidity, like a red wine, it needs a certain phenolic ripeness. This is the main reason why it is often the last harvested in Alsace. The limestone geology has the advantage to be less precocious, brings structure, sometimes a little more acidity, but more importantly, cover some of the varietal exuberant aromas by bringing more complex spicy/mineral flavours. On a limestone soil, the Gewurztraminer will also ripen technically slower (sugars). So, unless harvested very late, it is also easier to manage the alcohol potential.
In the vineyards of Hengst and Windsbuhl, which are old vines, we do replace the missing vines by young vines. As the vineyards get older, the proportion of these replacements is more consequent. Before harvesting the old vines, we go through these two vineyards and select the younger vines, those planted at the beginning of the rows (more vigorous). Grapes that we prefer not to add to the ‘grand vin’ but nonetheless of good quality and origin. These grapes are usually very ripe, so the Roche Calcaire Gewurztraminer often keeps a certain amount of natural residual sweetness.
Tasting notes
01/2024 : Pale yellow gold colour. The nose is very expressive showing intense exotic fruits aromas (litchi, mango, passion fruit, grapefruit…). It sounds like a cliché, but the wine is actually elegant and racy. The palate is fresh, quite tense and vibrant. Nice sweetness on the finish very well balance by ripe tannins.
This is a classic medium sweet Gewurztraminer that shows that it originates from good vineyards. It can be enjoyed young but will develop more complexity (spiciness) with age.