Alsace: The 2017s And Late-Released 2016s, Part 2

Jeunes Vignerons d’Alsace, Wine Grapes, Terroirs, And Going Bio

BY IAN D'AGATA | FEBRUARY 19, 2019

Alsace, one of the most blessed winegrowing regions in the world, is in the midst of a generational change. Young growers are bringing a fresh mindset to the region’s viticulture and winemaking, its many outstanding wine grapes and its first-rate terroirs. The result is a slew of very different wines from what their parents and grandparents used to make. Common approaches currently in vogue include the co-plantation of varieties, employing organic and biodynamic agriculture methods to the utmost, and a minimal-intervention winemaking philosophy. In fact, the recipes for success vary greatly from estate to estate, but the goal is much the same: to make wines that express their specific terroirs more precisely than they have in the past. Frankly speaking, not all of these “new” wines succeed in doing this, and some are remarkably unsuccessful (for example, not a small number are flawed or marred by unpleasant aromas and flavors), but those that are well-made are noteworthy. Certainly, these young growers have passion and energy in spades, and it will be interesting to see where their focus leads in the near and not-so-near future.

Alsace Facts And Figures: The Grapes And The Wine Categories

Alsace is a viticulturally blessed area boasting a plethora of grape varieties, wine styles, and world-class wines like practically no other French wine region. Unlike Champagne, where the output is dominated by sparkling wines made with the three Pinot varieties, or Burgundy, where wines are made mostly with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir (plus a little Aligoté, and, if you include Beaujolais, then Gamay too), in Alsace wines are made from numerous, very different and unrelated varieties. The diversity of Alsace white wine grapes is noteworthy: Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Auxerrois, Sylvaner Vert, Chasselas, Muscat Ottonel, Muscat à Petits Grains (also known as Muscat d’Alsace) and a few more besides. By contrast, Pinot Noir is far and away the most-planted red grape in the region (but there also exist a number of very interesting wines made from the red-berried variants of Sylvaner and Muscat d’Alsace). Recently, because of encroaching climate change, Syrah is being increasingly planted in trial plots at various estates – not unreasonably, given not just the region’s weather but also its wealth of granite soils.