Technical presentation
| Bottling : | February 2008 |
|---|---|
| Acquired alcohol : | 8° |
| Residual sugar : | 272.7 g/l |
| Total acidity : | 5.7 g/l H2SO4 |
| pH : | 3.6 |
| Yield : | 8 hl/ha |
| Average age of vines : | 24 years |
| Grape variety : | Pinot Gris |
| Terroir : | Rotenberg |
| Sweetness index : | SGN |
| Soil : | Calcaire Oligocène, Steep slope, West North West facing |
Description of the wine Pinot Gris Rotenberg 2005 - Sélection de Grains Nobles
Just like the Heimbourg vineyard, the Rotenberg enjoyed very similar climate conditions due to an almost identical topography. The crop was slightly smaller and therefore the richness of the SGN is even higher. This red calcareous soil is located on a very late ripening area, so the grapes always acquire a fantastic acidity balance. In great vintages, when the weather forecast is good (SGNs take a lot of time to harvest!), the harvesters doing the SGNs are told to be as severe as possible, in order to obtain a must as rich as possible. When the acidity is not high, we would keep 10 to 15% healthy grapes in order to give some freshness to the final wine. The 2005 is so rich, that it almost made it into a Trie Spéciale (above 200 Oechslés).
Tasting notes
01/2007 : This wine just stopped fermenting in its little ‘demi-muy’ (a 600 litres round cask). I still do not know the final balance, but I suspect that the finished alcohol level is below 8% and the RS must be well above 300g/l. The nose is still quite influenced by the recent fermentation, but already shows strong white fruits flavours (pears, ripe apples, peach…) and apricots. The acidity, quite sharp, manages to control the huge sweetness. Warning, this is a rich wine, but it has a wonderful delicate feel. It will be bottled in September 2007 and only more precise tasting notes can be made.
02/2008 : It took another full year for t his rich wine to settle down, clarify naturally and develop intense honeyed and toasty aromatics. Unbelievably stable, showing a huge complex acidity and length, this wine will now require a good cellar to get lost into it.
The Rotenberg of Wintzenheim
The Rotenberg is the summit of the hill whose south facing slopes make up the Grand Cru Hengst. The steep slopes of Rotenberg are west facing and look onto the Haut Landsbourg Chateau. The point where the slope turns towards the north is the start of a small lieu-dit called Hinterberg, within the Rotenberg.