2019 Domaine Weinbach, Riesling, Vin d’Alsace, France.
The baby Riesling from Weinbach is a killer value and exceptional wine, crisply detailed, but with opulent texture and balance showing a real presence in the glass with apricot, white peach, melon, a crunch of apple and zesty lemon/tangerine citrus fruits along with spicy clove, verbena, chamomile, salty wet stones and touch of round leesy brioche. The aromatics are delicately floral with a wisp of jasmine and orange blossoms along with a mineral tone, not to be confused with petrol fumes and subtle a earthiness that is wonderfully appealing in this stylish dry Riesling, it is always a treat to have a Weinbach and this is no exception. Women and nature have always played a big part of the success at Weinbach, which continues today.In recent years, Catherine Faller took over the leadership of the winery, made famous in a large part by her late mother Collette who brought the winery to the very top of wine world and her late sister Laurence, who was the winemaker for many years before sadly passing away at the young age of 41, and has kept the estate in the elite of Alsace wineries, along with her sons Eddy and Théo, who lead the next generation at this historic domaine.
The grapes for the basic Riesling are all organic and or biodynamic, they are all hand picked from parcels in the Valley of Kaysersberg, home to Domaine Weinbach with sandy silt soils on granite pebbles that give this wine its mineral focus. The grapes growing in this terroir, which is a bit warmer and sees lots of sun ripen a lot earlier, which the winery notes, produces wines with complex aromatics and a potent concentration, though there is loads of zesty acidity, meaning there is lots of depth and fruit density in most years, which this 2019 coming in about 13.5%, making for a rich supple body, though very dry with a touch of bitter almond coming from the phenolic extract. The 2019 saw a gentle whole cluster press in a Champagne style pneumatic press, then a spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts, that the Faller’s believe add an element of the terroir, enhancing the depth and complexity in the wine, in old oak vats. The basic Weinbach Riesling sees eight months on the lees in the large neutral wood barrels, which is just about perfect to mature this outstanding Alsatian white, and like all of the Weinbach offerings, this is an all vegan bottling, it goes great with a wide array of cuisine too, from cured ham to Cajun spiced shrimp or crayfish.
($30 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive