Though a bit of a drive north of Burgundy, I wanted to close our wine trip in Alsace. Partially, because we believe my family hails from the Alsace Lorraine region and partly to add some high acid white wines to our lineup to refresh the palate after such a whirlwind trip and to experience the unique German & French architecture and culture here.
A must-go for us was Rolly Gassmann. Way back when I worked part time for a boutique distributor in Las Vegas, Gassmann was in our book and I came to see how outstanding their wines are. The first time I'd ever tried Auxerrrois, which was mind blowing.
So we ventured up past town after town, steeple after steeple before too long many hillsides held ancient castles and battlements. We arrived early, so we got to walk around some and enjoy the breathtaking view from the Rolly Gassmann facility's spacious deck overlooking Rorschwihr.
Once inside, I was impressed by the scope. I didn't know how large they were and their new facility is super modern. It is balanced by not only their history, but prehistoric history. They have long monk's table after table covered in small rocks up to boulders from all 12 cru of the area. Not only rock and soil types, but ancient oceanic fossils, ancient tree fossils, mammal bones and even ancient tartrate buildup from the uncovered fermentation vessels from way back. It's really fascinating.
What we weren't prepared for, was getting to taste just about everything they make! Thank Dionysus for spit buckets. In all, I counted about 57 wines. They make the full range of Alsatian whites, Sylvaner, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Gewurtztraminer and Auxerrois. It was also intreresting to try their Pinot Noir wines. They also craft the range from drier examples from varietal to reserve bottlings, then up to Vendanges Tardive and Selection Grains Nobles. Some of the standouts of the day for me:
2011 Weingarten de Rorschwihr Sylvaner
2003 Auxerrois de Rorschwihr
2021 Riesling de Rorschwihr Reserve Rolly Gassmann
2015 Silberberg de Rorschwihr SGN
2019 Pinot Gris Reserve Rolly Gassmann
2005 Pinot Gris de Rorschwihr SGN
The varietal wines that overall got my highest marks and were speaking most to me that day for their acidity, balance and complexity were the Pinot Gris and Gewurtz wines. Specifically, an interesting mix of white tea on the 2019 Oberer Weingarten de Rorschwihr Gewurtz and the super floral nose and ginger finish on the 2021 Keppelweg de Rorschwihr. Another delicious more decadent example would be the 2008 Oberer Weingarten de Rorschwihr VT. There were loads of tangerines and Cara Cara orange on the 2005 Pinot Gris de Rorschwihr SGN. We also got to sample a few from 1994 and 1996 and they're still lush and interesting. I could have easily assembled a case here, but alas, had 3 spaces left in my wine valise and could perhaps fit two more bottles in my suitcase.
After the epitome of rich Alsatian lunches,
in which I had the veal in mushroom cream sauce with spaetzel (friend's pictured above), we ventured tardily on to our appointment at Domaines Schlumberger. They were great about hosting us though we were late and missed the tour. They were also super generous about letting us taste a wide range of their offerings.
I think perhaps Alsace is not my region for Pinot Noir, though I did enjoy the Schlumberger bottlings a bit more than those of Gassmann. I think the cold makes them a bit too biting and herbal for me. But for refreshing, high acid whites from dry to sweeter... man! This is where it's at. Schlumberger offers a nice range of Grand Cru bottlings (which for the uninitiated, are later picked with more RS).
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