Riesling Roche Calcaire
2018
Olivier Humbrecht is one of the world's most renowned winegrowers. He is a Master of Wine and has been described by Robert Parker as the greatest white winemaker on earth. Yet he is very soft spoken, humble, and self-deprecating, which makes him perfectly suited to his assumed role as a global ambassador of wine. He is a champion of terroir, biodynamic farming principles, and non-interventionist winemaking, whose family have been winegrowers in Alsace for 12 generations (since 1620). He is...
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The core of this wine originates from 7 little vineyards located all around the village of Gueberschwihr. For the past few years, the tiny production of the young vines of Riesling planted in the Hengst vineyard have been added. Gueberschwihr enjoys a slightly less precocious climate, most vineyards facing east on a gentle slope. The limestone based soils are deep, rich and benefit from excellent water retention capacity. The vines never go under water stress here. The cooler limestone brings a structure based on a crisp acidity and a broader palate. The wines do age very well and actually take some time to open up.
These vineyards are very consistent, and even in 2018, they were able to produce a very classic wine from beautiful healthy grapes. The fermentation took a long time to finish, probably the influence of a lower pH, but the wild yeasts managed to go to the end.
Clear pale yellow colour. The nose shows a typical ‘limestone’ influence: still slightly reductive, smoky, and an evolution towards citrus fruits with some aeration. The palate is elegant, nicely dry with a sapid and juicy acidity. Elegant finish, racy and dry. The zesty acidity mostly shows on the finish and leaves the palate ready for some food!
Still very young, this needs some aeration for the acacia, lemon-cream and beeswax notes to emerge. On the medium-to full-bodied palate there’s a great marriage of creaminess and ripeness, then the wine flips in the chalky direction, the mineral character building impressively at the long finish. From biodynamically grown grapes.
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This ample and vibrant dry riesling has an intensely chalky and flinty personality. Stacks of Amalfi lemon and ripe grapefruit character, too. Extremely stony finish with so much depth and energy. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold.
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Very attractive yellow fruit with the emphasis on Amalfi lemon, but also some stone fruit and just a hint of caramel. Very elegant and polished, this has vibrant acidity that very neatly matches the chalky character from the tip of your tongue right to the back of the mouth. Only just beginning to open up! From biodynamically grown grapes.
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A glint of flinty reduction entices on the cool, lemon nose on this wine. Lemon becomes more precise on the palate, tingling with freshness and pithy zest. The wine has cool, expansive depth, despite the hot vintage. Vivid lemon freshness persists to the long, bright finish, where zestiness lingers.
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From vineyards around Gueberschwihr and a small portion of young vines from the Hengst, the 2020 Riesling Roche Calcaire offers a clear, fresh and stony, lemony bouquet of crushed limestones and even flint stones. Full-bodied, pure and tensioned on the palate, this is a limestone-driven, silky-textured, elegant and refreshing Riesling with fine tannins and a finish that is pretty intense, finely bitter and quite long. This is an excellent wine for its price range.
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