Technical presentation
| Bottling : | September 2010 |
|---|---|
| Acquired alcohol : | 14° |
| Residual sugar : | 8.8 g/l |
| Total acidity : | 3.1 g/l H2SO4 / (4.7g/l Tartrique) |
| pH : | 3.4 |
| Yield : | 64 hl/ha |
| Average age of vines : | 19 years |
| Sweetness index : | 2 |
| Soil : | Calcaire Oligocène, South/South East facing, Very steep slope |
Description of the wine Riesling Heimbourg 2009
The Riesling is planted on the steepest and warmest part of the Heimbourg vineyard. The average slope averages here 50%, so most work are done by hand. The grapes are expected to ripen quickly and can reach high level of ripeness. It explains why this wine is rarely bone dry. However, the positive influence of the valley winds prevent the development of noble rot, so, we also don’t make very sweet wines here. The limestone soil keeps good acids and a rich structure. Given the ripeness of the grapes in 2009, we were quite surprised to see how quickly this wine finished to ferment (this was the first Riesling to finish fermentation in 2009), keeping quite a low level of sweetness. We believe that the warm location, lack of rain and absence of rot favoured a larger amount of wild yeasts and therefore an active fermentation.
Tasting notes
02/2011 : The nose is typical of limestone. Very mineral, with lots of sea air smells, almost petroly. It takes time for the fruit to show up. The palate is more advanced than the nose and show more open characteristics. The texture is rich, slightly round. The power of the wine has a greater influence than the actual sweetness. It explains the indice 2. Decanting and patience are needed here !