Technical presentation
| Bottling : | February 2018 |
|---|---|
| Acquired alcohol : | 12° |
| Residual sugar : | 6.4 g/l |
| Total acidity : | 3.7 g/l H2SO4 |
| pH : | 3.30 |
| Yield : | 35 hl/ha |
| Optimum tasting : | 2018-2026 |
| Average age of vines : | 33 years |
| Terroir : | Grand Cru Rangen de Thann Clos Saint Urbain |
| Sweetness index : | 1 |
| Soil : | Sedimentary volcanic rocks, South facing, Very steep slope |
Description of the wine Riesling Roche Volcanique 2016
This wine originates from the younger vines of Riesling planted in the 1980s on the Grand Cru Rangen. 2016 enjoyed an extremely dry summer, putting a little more stress on these 30ish year old vines, so we felt that we shouldn’t have blended them with the older vines. The volcanic soil here is very poor so yields are naturally low, even for young vines, so the character of the volcanic rock is well present in this wine. Driving south in Alsace, it is easy to forget that we actually go higher in altitude, which makes the Rangen a late ripening vineyard and explains why these grapes were harvested over a month after the Brand in Turckheim! The fermentation took a half year to complete, but the wine spent its 18 months in cask on the full lees before bottling.
Tasting notes
2/2018: pale yellow colour. The nose is almost extravagantly open and aromatic. In slow ripening vintages, this wine can show an unsuspected aromatic profile and intensity. The palate is delicate, covers the palate with an harmonious silky texture. A fine acidity, mostly showing on the finish, reminds the taster that this is still a wine made from Riesling grapes. The flavours last a long time on the palate, which is almost strange because it isn’t a heavy powerful wine at all. All through the tasting it is possible to distinguish the classic volcanic markers: flint, dry aromatic herbs, a typical saline mouth feel…
The Clos Saint Urbain, Grand Cru Rangen from Thann
The Rangen de Thann is the most southerly of the Alsace vineyards. In his book « Where Alsace wines ripen », Henry Riegert writes: « from the Middle Ages those wines which ripen on the Rangen hillside figure amongst the most famous growths of the whole vineyard region ». The Grand Cru Rangen de Thann, is situated at the exit of the valley, overlooking the village of Thann with the river Thur passing at the foot of the slope.