Vertical Tasting of Domaine Dirler-Cadé’s Sylvaner

One reason I never miss a chance to visit Jean Dirler and his family is that the Dirler-Cadé estate in Bergholtz makes outstanding wines from several different Alsace varieties. Its Sylvaner, a grape often treated as an afterthought in Alsatian wine-production circles, is especially noteworthy. I do not feel that I am exaggerating when I describe it as a world-class wine The fact that it ages extremely well is an added bonus.

A History Spanning Five Generations

The Jean Dirler estate goes back to 1871, when it was founded by the original Jean Dirler. Four generations later (following Georges, Georges and Jean-Pierre), another Jean Dirler married Ludivine Cadé and in 2000 took over the nine hectares of vines that had been worked by Ludivine’s father, Léon Hell-Cadé, renaming his estate Dirler-Cadé. Today Dirler-Cadé owns 18 hectares (29% of the estate is planted to Riesling, with Gewürztraminer the second most important variety here), including a number of parcels in famous grand crus such as Spiegel, Kessler, Kitterlé and Saering. In fact, almost 50% of the estate’s vines are located in grand cru sites. Now engaged in biodynamic farming, Dirler has since replanted most of his father-in-law’s old property with massale selections from the Hebinger nursery in Eguisheim. Production hovers around 90,000 bottles per year.

The Dirler-Cadé family; Jean Dirler, Ludivine Dirler, Jean Pierre Dirler and Marthe Dirler, with a portrait of Jean Dirler, who founded the domaine in 1871, in the background

Sylvaner is Special and Versatile at Dirler-Cadé

The Dirler family has always held Sylvaner in high esteem. “It’s a very underrated grape,” says Jean Dirler. “People fail to treat it with the respect it deserves in the vineyard, so Sylvaner rarely gets to show its true colors. And that’s an absolute shame, since it’s an outstanding food wine, much better than many Gewürztraminers and Pinot Gris wines that are blowsy and over the top.” I certainly agree. Sylvaner does remarkably well when matched with crustaceans and shellfish of all kinds, as well as with asparagus, artichokes and cilantro, all notoriously tricky for pairing wines. I should note that I am not the only fan of Dirler-Cadé’s Sylvaners. The wine is so popular that it’s sold at a higher price than the estate’s Pinot Blanc, which is rarely the case in Alsace.