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Alsace Wine Guide

Tom Stevenson, the well-respected wine writer, who has authored a number of very informative books on Champagne and Alsace, endorses this regional guide as...

"A brilliantly informative primer to the wines of Alsace" - Tom Stevenson

For your information a guide to the Grands Crus of Alsace is also available.

With the Vosges mountains and the rest of France to the west, and the Rhine and then Germany to the east, Alsace really is a mini-kingdom to itself, which has absorbed aspects from both French and German cultures. This is not surprising, as the region has changed hands four times in the past few hundred years. Since the Great War, however, Alsace has remained French, and although I think this shows through in the style of wine currently produced, many aspects of wine making remain German, including the style of bottles used and much of the terminology.

With appellation regulations permitting the planting of nine different grape varieties, one might imagine that getting to grips with the styles of wine produced in Alsace would be rather difficult. Not so, however, as Alsace, contrary to common practice in the rest of France or neighbouring Germany, has for many years followed the tradition of varietal labelling. Of the nine varieties permitted, six are responsible for the vast majority of vines planted in Alsace. These include the famous Riesling, more commonly associated with the vineyards of Germany, as well as the Pinot Noir, the red grape of Burgundy. Less famous, but no less capable are Tokay-Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, Muscat and Pinot Blanc. Of all these grapes, only Pinot Noir is red, and it rarely achieves anything remotely resembling a good Burgundy, and consequently Alsace is widely regarded as a white wine region. Pinot Blanc can be responsible for some worthy but hardly exciting wines. Hence, of the six grapes above, only the remaining four are highly regarded, and only these may be labelled as Grand Cru if they are grown in such a vineyard.

The Villages and Vineyards

Alsace Map When it comes to the villages and vineyards of Alsace, however, things get a little more difficult. One reason is the strange mixture of German (eg. Pfaffenheim) and French (eg. Ribeauville) sounding names, but in truth it is sheer number of different villages that confuses.

Fortunately, the village names are not the most important guide to quality wine in Alsace. As with all other wine regions, it is the producers name that is the best guide to the style or quality to be found in the bottle, and the village names, which may sometimes be found on the label (but frequently not) are not crucial. The map to the left shows just ten of the villages that are sprawled along central Alsace, although there are dozens more.

Of greater significance are the Grand Cru vineyards, the Clos (walled vineyards) and lieux-dits (other named sites). There are fifty Grand Cru vineyards, and these are of considerable importance. Wines from these sites are of the highest quality, partly because of terroir (soil type, slope, microclimate and all the other factors that affect grape quality) and partly because these sites have more restricted yields (although the regulations are still too lax for the prices frequently charged) and receive greater attention from the winemaker.

Unusually, the other named sites maybe within Grand Cru vineyards (such as Trimbach's Clos Ste-Hune, within Grand Cru Rosacker) or not (such as Zind-Humbrecht's Clos Windsbuhl, which lies in the village of Hunawihr).

To complicate matters, some producers, such as Hugel, Trimbach and Beyer, among others, do not subscribe to the Grand Cru system and happily sell wines from these sites with no such indication on the label. The wines sell, purely on the reputation of the producer and the wine itself. My summary of the Grands Crus of Alsace can be found here: Alsace Grands Crus.

Wine Styles

With varietal labelling very much in the New World style (although Alsace was there first, having followed this concept since the early 20th century), and a range of delicious, well structured, food friendly white wines, why is it that Alsace isn't more popular? One reason may be the tall, slender bottles in which Alsace wines are presented. The shape is very reminiscent of German wine bottles, and to many consumers will conjure up painful memories of tasteless, sugar-water concoctions sold as Liebfraumilch or simply 'Hock'. Another, of course, may simply be an unfamiliarity with the varieties in question. After all, the white wines of today are Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, not Gewurztraminer, Muscat or Tokay-Pinot Gris! This is a great shame, because the wines of Alsace can truly be wonderful, covering all price ranges and styles.

The simplest wines are the blends, often referred to as Edelzwicker. Although inexpensive, from a good producer these can still be very tasty and offer very good value. Pinot Blanc can also offer simple, food friendly wines for summer quaffing. The other varietally labelled wines, however, are where Alsace starts to get really interesting. The top domaines produce a range of cuvées, but in general there are basic AC Alsace village wines (the name of the village will not necessarily be printed on the label) and the AC Alsace Grand Cru wines.

Grand Cru Tokay-Pinot Gris is considered by many to be the archetypal Alsatian wine. It has a spicy richness that some may confuse with Gewurztraminer, but it has a higher acidity which prevents the development of the fat, lazy texture which may sometimes be found with the latter. When grown outside Alsace the grape is referred to simply as Pinot Gris (Pinot Grigio in Italy). Legend has it that the prefix Tokay belies the origin of the grape, which was brought from the Tokay vineyards of Hungary by Baron Lazare de Schwendi. The fact that Tokay is today made from Furmint and Hárslevlu would suggest this is unlikely, although it is by no means impossible. Only 80 years ago, the noble varieties that now cover Alsace accounted for less than 10% of all the vines planted. Times change.

Grand Cru Gewurztraminer is one of those wines that seems to divide opinions. I've often wondered what the fuss was about, as I simply love good Gewurztraminer, but in more recent times I have also met wine drinkers who detest the stuff. The problem is that it can be such an obvious, 'in-your-face' wine. Packed with lychees, citrus peel and smoke, sometimes with a rich hedonistic texture, although also sometimes with a much more restrained, balanced feel, it can be a delicious drink indeed.

Grand Cru Rieslings are some of the greatest white wines in the world, and the firm of Trimbach are responsible for at least two of these. These are the Clos Ste-Hune, Alsace's greatest wine, originating from within the Grand Cru Rosacker, and the Cuvée Frédéric Emile, originating from the Grand Cru Osterberg. Unlike Gewurztraminer and Tokay-Pinot Gris, which can age well but also show well young, the top Rieslings of Alsace often need years to reveal their true potential.

Grand Cru Muscat is probably the most floral and 'in-your-face' wine here, although it does not seem to generate the same level of discussion as does Gewurztraminer. Intense aromas and flavours of citrus fruits, peel, spice, blossom and flower petals usually make for an interesting wine. I always feel that Muscat lends itself to less serious, fortified wines such as Muscat de Beaumes de Venise and Muscat de St-Jean de Minervois, rather than the drier style produced in Alsace. Nevertheless it can still be a lovely drink, and is often said to make a good partner for exotic, spicy, Eastern cuisine.

Vendange Tardive and Sélection de Grains Nobles are two wonderful Alsatian specialities. 'Vendange tardive' means 'late harvest', which results in the harvest of grapes with a different chemical composition to those harvested at the more usual time. Grapes left on the vine until November or December undergo passerillage, when the metabolic activity of the vine shuts down and the grapes begin to dehydrate. These grapes are quite different in character to those harvested in September, although they may have exactly the same sugar content. Consequently, yet confusingly, vendange tardive wines are not necessarily sweeter than the standard wines. When the vineyards are affected by botrytis, the 'noble rot' responsible for the much of the character of Sauternes, a 'sélection de grains nobles' wine may be made.

My top wines: Most of the top producers make a range of wines, so this is really a guide to my top producers rather than top wines. They include (in no particular order, although it is perhaps noteworthy that Kuentz-Bas comes to mind first): Kuentz-Bas, Trimbach, Marcel Deiss, Zind Humbrecht, Beyer, Rolly Gassmann, Weinbach, Bruno Sorg, Marc Kreydenweiss, Hugel, Domaine Ostertag and Albert Boxler.

Occasional fine wines come from Leon Beyer, Josmeyer, Lorentz, Bott-Geyl and Schlumberger. Good value everyday wines can also be sourced from Albert Mann, Materne Haegelin and the Turckheim co-operative. I have also sampled wines from Wunsch & Mann.

Vintages

Alsace has enjoyed a string of good vintages recently, which only emphasises my point above that it is the producer behind the wine that is most important. The most difficult of recent vintages were probably 1991 and 1994, although good producers will still make perfectly palatable wines. Otherwise, intervening vintages were of good to excellent quality.