Wonderful Alsatian Muscat from a producer we associate with a clean-cut precision. Bags of lime and grapefruit citrus with a chalky, mineral undertow and delicate floral perfume. Find out more.
About the Wine
It's pleasing to see the often overlooked or blended Alsatian varietal Sylvaner here taking centre stage and showing what it can be capable of when harvested from older vines. Here the grape is direct-pressed into big old foudre barrels and left to be, in contact with the lees for well over two years before bottling. This unhurried process reveals great complexity from the concentrated 'vielle vigne' fruit - like many of the great examples from vines in Mittlebergheim, there is a soaring acidity and a cut glass quality, impeccably crystalline fruits and a tension that binds it all together.About Domaine Rietsch
The Rietsch estate has been in the family for seven generations and the land was previously used for tobacco and crops. It was Jean-Pierre's parents who started cultivating vines in 1970s, and handed on to Jean-Pierre in 1987. Although Jean-Pierre is now retired, he still contributes to daily runnings and is assisted by Pierre-Etienne Grieshaber. Le Main Verte is another contributing company, and coordinate the manual work in the vineyards yet the domaine is still very much driven by a family-led culture. The vineyard is naturally cultivated, with terroir at the heart of the operation and no use of chemicals.
