Pale lemon in colour, Dry River Pinot Grigio displays a powerful bouquet of citrus blossom, lime and grapefruit aromas. On the palate, classic Pinot Grigio flavours of green apple, pear and tropical fruits helping to give balance to the wine’s crisp, crunchy acidity prior to a surprisingly long finish untypical of this grape variety.
Fragrant, dry but weighty Pinot Gris packed with stone fruits and bruised pears and a delightful naturally refreshing acidity on the finish. Classy food wine.
A creamy textured and warmly complex Alsatian Pinot Gris from the French side of the Rhine valley
This example from Domaines Schlumberger is from their 'Prince Abbes' which they like to think of as being their '2nd wines' in Bordeaux terms. Most of the fruit comes from their Schimberg vineyards. It's a wine that successfully pulls off the elusive trick of being rich and intense yet refreshing, with incredible finesse all at the same time. It also has satisfying hints of spice, honeyed citrus and lychee leading up to the weighty finish. It's certainly a pedigree wine from an acknowledged expeert producer.
Grapes for this Pinot Gris were sourced from selected small plots in the Hunawihr vineyards, which lie at an altitude of 250-300 metres above sea level. On the palate, elegant flavours of pear are supported with a subtle smokiness.
Lovely, opulent aromas of grapefruit and peach follow through to a lithe body, with loads of fruit as well as abundant melon and apple character and citrusy acidity.
Producer Profile
The Cramele Recas Estate, owned by Englishman, Philip Cox and his Romanian wife Elvira, have put in a huge amount of work into transforming their slice of grape growing history into a contemporary winemaking haven.
The immaculate vineyards are a combination of evolved plantings from 1447 and much more recent plantings too. With recent investments into modernising and improving their winery, they regularly host world class flying winemakers, vintage to vintage, to work with their team. This enables them to create top quality wines and constantly challenge themselves push innovations and approach winemaking with an open mind.
Viticulture
The winery has been fully fitted out with stainless steel, automatic temperature controlled tanks for fermenting and storing the wine. The primary vinification facility has been completely renewed with the best possible equipment for gently crushing, de stemming, pressing the grapes- in order to be able to maintain all the quality in the grapes.
Winemaking
Grapes are night harvested, to arrive cool at the winery. Crushed and de stemmed then pumped through a must chiller on the way to the press. Pressings and free-run fractions are separated for fermentation. Juice clarified by flotation then racked to stainless steel for fermentation at 10-15 deg C over 2 to 3 weeks. Centrifuged and cold stabilized prior to blending, filtering and bottling.
17gr residual sugar. Good depth of flavour on the palate. Savoury and bready with a touch of sweet spice. Perhaps a little confected on the fruit. This would certainly be a versatile food wine. Good structure, savoury finish.
Tasted at the Domaine March 2020
"Slight rosiness to the colour. A very different wine. Meaty, savoury aromas. A broad, fleshy palate, yet precise with no oiliness. It’s almost beyond any Pinot Gris I’ve ever tasted. A touch of florality on the finish brings the wine back in to line. Refreshing and foody." AA
Rangen de Thann is one of the most Southerly vineyards of Alsace. Volcanic soils, and vertiginous slopes. This site is so difficult to work it requires that estate to employ four full time staff for just 5.5ha!
This wine fermented to full dryness in just 3 weeks. No MLF. Elegant, floral, charming. Savoury, smoky, bright. Hot, and dormant.
The estate is seeing a dry Pinot Gris renaissance at the moment - terroir driven, versatile wines, but not as high acidity or ‘intellectual’ as Riesling.
The Roche range really does represent remarkable value. The fruit for the Roche Calcaire wines comes from young vines in Clos Windsbuhl. But at Zind Humbrecht when they say ‘young vines’ what they mean is an average age of 35-40yo vines, rather than 85-90yo! In many other regions this wine would be classed Vieilles Vignes! Only just released, this Pinot Gris was quite closed when we tasted it. Pinot Gris ferments quickly making reduction more likely. There are notes of bitter almond and apple skin. On the palate the wine is fleshy, with an fine underlying acid structure. At the moment it may seem a little austere and difficult, but this wine still has a long way to go.
Tasted at the Domaine, March 2020 (AA)
The Roche Volcanique range is younger vines from Rangen de Thann. This wine has 9.6g/l residual sugar. An immediate whiff on gunflint hints at a touch of reduction. The palate is soft at first, with pure ripe fruit to the fore. It tastes floral. There’s reserved acidity and slightly lifted alcohol. The lightly acidic soil makes wines with higher pH. It’s moreish, charming, long, and thoroughly enjoyable now.
Tasted at the Domaine, March 2020 (AA)
Rangen de Thann is one of the most Southerly vineyards of Alsace. Volcanic soils, and vertiginous slopes. This site is so difficult to work it requires that estate to employ four full time staff for just 5.5ha!
A golden pinky colour. Very savoury on the nose. Washed rind cheese. Floral, honied, advanced. Very tertiary. Burnt acacia honey, membrillo, yellow apple skins, peaty medicine. Suddenly there is freshness, length, and depth. Hugely layered. Less rich then 2012, but more than 2017. Pure, crystalline, developed. Plateauing.
Tasted at the Domaine, March 2020 (AA)
Rolly-Gassmann is a domaine like no other and has a unique style. It is located at Rorschwihr, a sleepy village on the northern rim of Haut-Rhin. The vineyards are located in Rorschwihr and the neighbouring Rodern and Bergheim. The wines are small masterpieces with very good definition. They all carry the signature of Rolly-Gassmann, a certain shameless, velvety sweetness. The fruit is rich and manages to balance the fruit with a vibrant acidity to form wines that melt on the palate.
17gr residual sugar. Good depth of flavour on the palate. Savoury and bready with a touch of sweet spice. Perhaps a little confected on the fruit. This would certainly be a versatile food wine. Good structure, savoury finish.
