Domaine Weinbach Alsace Wine Tasting at Wine Watch

“As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans.”

 Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

This is one of the benchmark producers in Alsace and this tasting is a study in one of the world's great wine producing regions with one of the greatest producers in this region.  I love these wines so much I have made this tasting an annual event!

Alsace produces some of the most profound white wines on the face of the earth. The wines from this storybook village can range from very average to very ethereal. Tonight we will be sampling wines from one of the greatest small producers of this region and one of the most unique because today, it is run by women.

Théo Faller, a prominent figure in Alsace winegrowing, strove to improve the quality of Alsace wines.  As a fervent advocate of the region's recognition as an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, he continuously promoted its incomparable terroirs and grape varieties.  Théo was devoted to Domaine Weinbach.  He developed, expanded and enhanced it.  Since his death in 1979, his wife Colette and daughters, have carried on Théo's passion for the great wines of Alsace and his unrelenting commitment to delivering excellence.   Earlier this year, Laurence Faller, one of the most talented winemakers in Alsace died quite suddenly following a suspected heart attack at the ridiculously young age of 47.  We will raise a glass to one of Alsace’s great winemakers and celebrate these great wines.  As I always say; “Drink the Good Stuff First”- you never know when it’s your last glass!

Join us as we taste through the current releases from this landmark producer from Alsace. Wine Watch Catering's Toni Lampasone will serving up a few tasty treats to accompany the tasting wines. This is a sit down tasting and is limited to 15 tasters. The fee for this tasting is $45 per person all-inclusive for reservations call 954-523-9463. 

Domaine Weinbach Alsace Wine Tasting at Wine WatchWednesday, August 27, 2014 -7:00 PM

Tasting Line-up:

2008 Domaine Weinbach Sylvaner Reserve Price: $20.00    Sale $17.60    Case $204 Quantity in Stock: 3

Origins: Clos des Capucins. Fresh, fruity, this admittedly modest but surprising wine has depth and body. The Sylvaner is good with cooked pork meats, oysters, fish. It is also a thirst-quenching wine.

2009 Domaine Weinbach Muscat Reserve Price: $37.25    Sale $32.78    Case $380 Quantity in Stock: 11

(87 Points) The largely-Ottonel Weinbach 2009 Muscat d'Alsace Reserve smells of spruce needles, oregano, elder flower, and apricot. Faint bitterness not only inherent in this variety but also common in this vintage (for example, in the corresponding Pinot Blanc) serves for cut and invigorating counterpoint in an otherwise softly-textured as well as unusually voluminous and low-acid exemplar of its genre; and there is enough primary juiciness as well as a streak of salinity to render the finish quite mouthwatering. eRobertParker.com #194, May 2011

2012 Domaine Weinbach Pinot Blanc Reserve Price: $28.25    Sale $24.86    Case $289

2011 Domaine Weinbach Pinot Blanc Reserve Price: $25.50 Quantity in Stock: 12

Origins: Clos des Capucins and the marly limestone soil at the foot of the Altembourg. Soft and delicate, robust, it combines freshness and suppleness. Nice as an aperitif, it goes well with an onion tart, quiches and other light dishes made from fish or white meat.

2012 Domaine Weinbach Pinot Gris Cuvee Saint Catherine Price: $54.00    Sale $47.52    Case $551

They are full bodied, with complex bouquets and a beautiful roundness. They are delicious with veal, escalope à la crème, risotto, lamb, chicken and all sorts of poultry. Very rich for the late vintages, Tokay Pinot Gris goes really well with foie gras.  The old vines of the Clos de Capucins. The Tokay Sainte Catherine has a nice power and a slight roundness, well balanced by a nice acidity.

2011 Domaine Weinbach Pinot Gris Cuvee Saint Catherine Price: $51.75    Sale $45.54    Case $528 Quantity in Stock: 11

They are full bodied, with complex bouquets and a beautiful roundness. They are delicious with veal, escalope à la crème, risotto, lamb, chicken and all sorts of poultry. Very rich for the late vintages, Tokay Pinot Gris goes really well with foie gras.  Origins: the old vines of the Clos de Capucins. The Tokay Sainte Catherine has a nice power and a slight roundness, well balanced by a nice acidity. It is wonderful combined with white meats en sauce, risottos, poultry such as geese, ducks, etc.

2011 Domaine Weinbach Riesling Cuvee Theo Price: $36.00    Sale $31.68    Case $368

Origins: Clos des Capucins. The Riesling Cuvée Théo is lively, it has body and finesse. It is lovely served with all kind of fish dishes.

2012 Domaine Weinbach Riesling Personnelle Reserve Price: $23.25    Sale $20.46    Case $238

Has a meaty, very varietal nose, with a touch of peach that carries over onto the palate. Sweet fruit, yet finishes dry. Super silky and luscious, it has some nutty elements. Granular tannins and lemon skin on the finish. At the foot of the majestic Schlossberg hill, in Alsace, stands one of the finest estates in all of France.

2012 Domaine Weinbach Riesling Schlossberg Grand Cru Price: $38.00    Sale $33.44    Case $388

2011 Domaine Weinbach Riesling Schlossberg Grand Cru Price: $38.00    Sale $33.44    Case $388 Quantity in Stock: 12

Origins: the high part of the "grand cru" Schlossberg's hill. In a tense and very pure style, the Riesling Schlossberg tastes perfect with fish on the grill, oysters and other kinds of seafood, as well as with the traditional alsacian choucroute.

2012 Domaine Weinbach Gewurztraminer Personnelle Reserve Price: $30.50    Sale $26.84    Case $312

19 grams of residual sugar. A very typical nose of roses, super varietal. On the palate, a silky texture. Quite easy to drink, there are acids on the back palate. Not too bitter, this shows some sweet lime and mint on the palate. Lovely for this level of Gewurztraminer. At the foot of the majestic Schlossberg hill, in Alsace, stands one of the finest estates in all of France. Domaine Weinbach is run with consummate skill and total dedication by Colette Faller and her two daughters, Catherine and Laurence. In the words of The grapes are hand-harvested, pressed directly as whole clusters in modern horizontal pnuematic presses. The must settles for 24 hours at cellar temperature and is slowly matured in large, ancient oak casks, using only indigenous yeasts.

Menu

Selection of Cheese; Chevre, St. Andre and Blue Cheese Graham cracker and fig jam

Chicken Sausage with Gewurztraminer grape jam on a toasted brioche bun

Foie Gras and pork belly Terrine with Sweet mustard Cornichon drizzle served on a plum and apricot salsa

Wild Mushroom and fennel flatbread with lavender aioli

A bit about Domaine Weinbach:

This fairy tale wine producing region has a history that is somewhat violent and tragic.  The citizens here have been traded back and forth between the Germans and the French until after world war II, when they finally ended up on the French side.  The first mention of a form of the name Alsace occurs in the time of the Frankish and Merovingian kings when it was termed Alesia.  This is thought to have been derived from Alisa, or from a combination of ‘ill’ from the river, and Sass, old German for ‘resident’.  In medieval times the wine was known in England and the Low Countries as Aussey.

The sorted history of this area as well as the unique climate and soil types here make the wines coming from this region truly unique.  The Rhine basin is confined on one side by the Vosges and on the other by the hills of the Black Forest.  Both these ridges are comprised of either granite or gres rouge, a very compact red sandstone, you will see this used in the local buildings.  Millions of years ago, when these alps were formed, a violet quake caused the Alps to rise above the surrounding waters, the black forest and the Vosges chains rose as well, leaving a fault between them.  This fault remained flooded, and also saw further erosion as glaciers came and went over the following years.  This resulted in a soil structure which is as varied and complex as you will find anywhere.  You could probably find a sample of practically every type of soil known to man here in Alsace; clay, limestone, sand, gravel, chalk, marl and loess , there is granite at Turckeim and Wintzenheim, yellow loam at Guebwiller and rich in fossils at Eguisheim and Barr. 

The vineyards in this tiny, yet important wine producing region are even more fragmented in ownership than those of the rest of France. With over 9,000 growers sharing a total of 30,000 acres, the average individual holding is just over three acres.  It is rare that even the larger more established estates here are larger than 100 acres.  The Faller brothers got into the wine business here in 1885.  They purchased 62 acres of monastic land, the Clos de Capucins.  Located in the picturesque village of Kayserberg, they became a family of growers rather than a negociant (someone who purchases fruit and wine to bottle under their own label).  The Faullers quickly became known as one of the most respected names in all of Alsace.  The grandson of these men, Theo Faller was a man of uncompromising taste and would stop at nothing to produce the best possible wines.  Upon his death, his wife madame Colette Faller took over the day-to-day operations and the passion that Theo ran this estate with.  In a country that boasts some extraordinary women winemakers today (Madame Gros of Domaine Jean Gros, Lalou Bize-Leroy of the Domaine Leroy, madame Ferret of Pouilly-Fuisse, Dany Rolland, wife of Michel Rolland and a famed enologist in her own right, and Christine Fabre of Chateau Troplong-Mondot), Colette stands out among these women for the sheer force of her personality and extraordinary elegance.  Madame Colette Faller, believes that without risk there is no reward, she harvests extremely late when she has to, risking the entire production if all does not go as planned, however the rewards of patience are usually great.

Their most sought after wines come from the monopole vineyard, Clos des Capucins.  This 12.5 acre vineyard produces both Tokay and Riesling of profound proportions (the Grains Nobles wines are incredible and impossible to find).  They grow all of the traditional Alsacian varietals here, from Pinot Blanc, to their cuvees of Riesling (there are usually four, Reserve Personelle, Schlossberg, Cuvee Theo and Clos Ste. Catherine).  Faller makes spectacular Pinot Gris and a number of Gewurztraminers that are rivaled only by those of Leonard Humbrecht.  Her best two Gewurztraminers are consistently the exotic, honeyed Cuvee Theo and the rose-scented Reserve Personelle.  In certain vintages there is also an off-dry, dense, chewy, lychee nut-scented and flavored Cuvee Laurence.  In addition to the Grains Noble wines they make a few “vendange tardive” (late harvest) wines from Tokay and Gewurztraminer

Other wines from Alsace that we have in the store:

NV Lucien Albrecht Rose Cremant Alsace Price: $19.50    Your Price: $17.16 Quantity in Stock: 9

This is a methode Champenoise style sparkling wine from Alsace made with 100% Pinot Noir and one of the best values in the sparkling rose category that we have in the store! Light raspberry and strawberry like fruit on the nose, very forward and pleasant aromas. Fresh light red berry fruit on the tongue with smooth creamy bubbles leaving the tongue fresh and clean on the finish, a real crowd pleaser style. Finish 35 EXCELLENT

2005 Domaine Ostertag Muscat Fronholz Alsace Price: $33.75    Sale Price: $18.75 Quantity in Stock: 6

Ostertag confesses that he would not bother to bottle a Muscat if he were not so attached to his old vines, warning that they won't be around forever,

2003 Domaine Ostertag Pinot Gris Zellberg Alsace Price: $50.50    Sale Price: $44.44 Quantity in Stock: 3

White peach and Asian pear fruit highlighted by notes of lime blossoms, and fresh stone minerality on the nose. Focused and intense minerality on the palate with crisp acidity holding the rich and ripe stone fruit together with excellent intensity and balance through the finish, zesty with a host of mineral notes to the end. Finish 45+ MOST EXCELLENT

2007 Domaine Ostertag Fronholz Pinot Gris Alsace Price: $51.25    Sale Price: $35.50 Quantity in Stock: 15

(91 Points) Effusively musky, carnal, decadently floral (narcissus and faded lily) as well as peachy scents in the Ostertag 2007 Pinot Gris Fronholz are followed by a palate of subtle oiliness, imposing richness, and ripe peach succulence, supported by the subtle sweetening effect of high glycerin (in a wine of already well over 14% alcohol) and 12 grams of residual sugar that are utterly discreet. Yet, in the manner of the best Pinot Gris of its vintage, this retains lovely freshness, vivacity, and primary juiciness. Nut paste; spiced pear and peach; and musky liquid floral perfume linger on the palate as well as in the empty glass. This should remain a treat for at least 6-8 years, though one should monitor it thereafter for signs of alcoholic heat. Ostertag uses mostly older barrels for Fronholz as he thinks its cool, sometimes – as in 2007 “ Riesling-like personality is temperamentally opposed to flavors of oak.

Andre Ostertag was like most of his region's best growers very selective about what he chose to bottle in 2006. He is especially enthusiastic about his uncompromisingly intense 2007s and the sense in which the Rieslings resemble a throwback to the moderate must weights and refreshing acidity that was common in Alsace before the string of warm vintages that has been nearly uninterrupted since 1988. I was surprised to find myself as impresses as I was with the 2007 Pinot Gris bottlings here, but Ostertag says it was simply unfair until very recently to compare his results with that grape to those with Riesling, because the vines of the former were too young. They've passed 20 years of age now, and that, he opines, is why they can start to show their real potential (and, I would add, stand up to Ostertag's use of barriques). While I hate to take up space with this matter, readers should be aware that wines from this estate that formerly bore the village name Epfig will now merely be coded with the capital letter because of certain limitations that the authorities have now imposed on the use of village designates and the definition of village level names. (Frankly, I wouldn't even want to understand the regulation if I thought it would prove intelligible!) eRobertParker.com # 188 Apr 2010

2005 Trimbach Pinot Gris Reserve Alsace Price: $22.50    Your Price: $19.80 Quantity in Stock: 7

2001 Lucien Albrecht Riesling Clos Himmelreich Alsace Price: $99.00    Your Price: $87.12 Quantity in Stock: 2

2002 Blanck Gewurztraminer Alsace 375ml Price: $15.00    Your Price: $13.20 Quantity in Stock: 13

2000 Lucien Albrecht Riesling Vendage Tardives Alsace 375ml Price: $46.00    Your Price: $40.48 Quantity in Stock: 8