Alsace terroirproducervariety workshop LONG and AMBITIOUS

Hello, Thursday last week, self and Xina went to the nearest University town, Lund, for a workshop on Alsace. Bright was the day and high our hearts etc - the master of ceremonies, Per Warfvinge who keeps a website on Alsace (www.warfvinge.net) appears both erudite and pedagogical, as well as a thoroughly nice guy - he is professor of Chemistry (now, why does all that ring a bell?) . He started by giving a good if short presentation of the geological history of Lasce - at bottom, granit, c 570 My old, then, a series of sedimentary layers starting with Bundsandstein, then Muschelkalk, and over that Keupermarle. These are between 245 and 225 My old. About 40 My ago, two faults create the Rhine plain, and a rearrangement of the sedimentary layers between the two faults - this would consbreastute the Eastern slope of the Vosge mountain range. He did not mention this, but I would guess that this was a time of volcanic activity (faults are not seldom lined by active volcanoes). 30 My ago the alst sedimentary layer is laid down on the Rhine plain (Rheingraben, or fosse rhenane), which was oligocen marle. This has then been covered by alluvial soil, while the sedimentary layers have been wiped off the Vosges summits by glacialisations..

Well, I think it's interesting!

ANyway, he wanted first to show the influence of terroir, using wines from three different GC - all these wines were Riesling from the 2002 vintage. For comparison, he had wines from two producers (both located in Eguishem). They were my favorite (or, one of my favorites) Bruno Sorg, and Paul Ginglinger of whom I have previously tasted some of his entry level Rieslings and found them not bad. The vineyards were Florimont, which has a soil rich in lime, and is the least warm of the three; Pfersigberg,where the soil consists of gravelly marle and muschelkalk, and which is fairly warm; and Eichberg, which has a soil low in lime, rich in marle and which is very warm. 1 n mineral, slight petroleum, a pbutting whiff of something reminiscent of oxidation?? No matter, it pbutted p deceptively mild acidity in the attack, round fruitiness, completely dry, rinsing freshness, somebody said green strictness.

2 n honey, slate, sort of sushi - you know, rice vinegar, wasabi, iodine?, some burnt notes, and earthiness p acidity more forcefull and less rondeur (compared to #1), very good length

3 n whiff of acidity, roses, lemon jam, very slight petroleum, abricots and peaches, sweet florality p very laidback acidity, bit of body, fruity sweetness

4 n cumin (=Cuminum cyminum), exotic fruit, pineapple, peach, fudge p possibly pineapple, very strong acidity

I was little surprised to find that #1 and 2 were both from Bruno Sorg. #1 was GC Florimont, while both #2 and 3 were from Pfirsigberg, only #4 being from Eichberg. Seeing a similarity between #2 and 3 was, to me, not possible - the similarity was from the variety, and a certain Alsacicity which I relaise is not really helpful ... I have contemplated what might be the factor that differs between them, since, according to Per W they do not differ in cellar practice - a hesitant guess might be fermentation temperature, perhaps Ginglinger ferments at lower temperature - somebody with a better knowledge of how Riesling reacts to that may be able to answer. Anders? A further possibility is that the grapes may come from different parts of the Pfersigberg, which is divided by a road and some inferior plots - in fact, the slopes of the two parts are not inclined in the same dierection.

Next flight, we were introduced to three different terroirs from one producer. The producer was Mittnacht-Klack, the vineyards respectively GC Rosacker (clay, gravel, dolomite lime), Schoeneburg (light, complex soil over marle, lime and gypsum), and the lieu-dit St Ulrich which is a granitdominated, well-drained vineyard on the slope to the North and above Rosacker. Again, The variety was Riesling, and the vintage 2002.

1 n oatmeal, wool, carambole, perfumed, black currant leaves p sweetness, little body, e nds on acidity

2 n fudge, minerals, sulphur?, raw rubber p minerality, acidity surprisingly low initially, very powerful and coarse even, good length, ending on acidity and minerals. If this had been a red wine I would have discussed tannnicity, as in, this has a lot of tannins.

3 n fruit fruit and more fruit p sweetness, banana, petroleu, softer. Some talked of particular complexity. I freely admit my complete failure to comprehend the greatness of this wine.

The first was the St Ulrich, the cheapest in the flight; the second was Rosacker, and the third Schoenenbourg.

Last flight (whew) one producer, one terroir, three varietals, vintage 2002. Terroir was the well-known GC Rangen, Southernmost of the Alsatian GC´s and docimented back to 7th century CE. Producer SChoffit. The gentle producer has his cave in a zone industriale on the outskirts of Colmar, where his closest neighbour makes concrete construction details. This also means (and this is my reflection) a substantial transportation from the vineyard to the cave. 1 Now,this was odd. Do you remember those soap dispensers in lavatory facilities? With sort of pink-mauve liquid soap? With a smell of ... roses ... and soap? Now, mix in a bit of parsely ... Taste it and the high acidity is there, with an ill-defined aromatic component ... 2 Cellary, somewhat unclean, animal nose leads into fruity-sweet palate with mineral and viscosity 3 Textbook litchee, a sniff reminding me of generic fruit syrup, slightly warmed, of my childhood, and raisins. On palate more lithee, good structure, very good length ending on a slight bitterness, obviously high alcohol and burnt notes.

The first was a Riesling. According to one of the participants, the soapy smell is typical of Riesling when the concetration is too high, when yield is reduced to c 30 hl-ha or less (this is what I repeat and does not reflect any insight on my part). The second was Pinot Gris. according to PW, citing Bruno Sorg, pg has a problem in that it is extremely prone to grey rot (botrytis when it is an afflicition), and this leads to notes of mushrooms etc - not always entirely pleasant. The thrid was (obviously) Gwz and a fairly good one.

General impressions of the third flight: These are wines typically priced in the 25-30 EU bracket. I see the possibility that they evolve over time (after all, vintage 2002 is only 3½ years old) but, I found no temptation whatsoever in aquiring any of them, including the gwz.

This was a very ambitious workshop, but the mission it took up was, I think, near impossible.

And the claim of one of the participants, that a Riesling GC Schoenenbourg should always be instantly recognisable may be true, but, I think I would need more material to bear that statement out.

My favorites were definitely the Bruno Sorg GC Pfersigberg.