The ALTENBERG DE BERGHEIM is located in the heart of the field of geological faults of RIBEAUVILLE which puts in contact hard limestones of the Jurassic and marls of Lias. These formations rich in fossils formed a poor clay-limestone soil, red (ferruginous), rich in limestone rocks, where the vines must dive deeply to find their energy.
The micro-climate of ALTENBERG, the result of its southern exposure, its distance from the Vosges front and its isolation from the Rhine plain, is terribly hot, dry and almost overexposed. The maturities of the grapes, frequently amplified by Noble Rot, are out of the ordinary and impose the domination of the Terroir over the planted grape varieties.
The return to the ancestral practice of the vineyard planted with all the traditional grape varieties and the single unsorted harvest opens the Pandora's box of the “Grand Vin” for ALTENBERG: the Terroir then becomes the conductor who masters and inspires in all the ranges all the performers (rootstocks and grape varieties, all the conditions of the vintage and even the winegrower!) at the service of a unique score: the pure expression of the Terroir, the balanced symphony of Grand Vin. This synthetic wine then revives the old Alsatian tradition of wines for aging and for travel which, throughout the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and until the end of the 13th century, made possible the gigantic Rhine cultural effort including modern Alsace. is the result.
"The development of this wine marks a stage in my life as a winegrower and a break with the primacy of the grape variety dominating the Terroir from which Alsace has suffered so much over the past hundred years.
Jean-Michel DEISS "
Type: Large, rich white wine, both powerful and baroque, but with an impressive balance of freshness. Explosive nose of fruits (citrus, exotic fruits), honey and vanilla. Resined on the finish. It is a wine of meditation in its youth, royal at the table after 10 years.
