2023 Riesling Brand Grand Cru

Céline Meyer was glad to have escaped the April frosts, as a good part of her vines are on the plain. These sandy, gravelly sites also exacerbated the dry stress of 2023. In her poetic summary of the year, Meyer spoke of rain only “caressing” the soil, not really drenching it, with dryness already apparent in winter. She noted that she once again had to prepare chamomile and yarrow teas, a treatment she believes soothes her vines. Meyer referred to a rain shower on June 30 as “25 mm of happiness.” Another longed-for 13 mm arrived on July 25, but Meyer described the heat of summer as “suffocating” and “crushing,” only relieved by 30 mm of rain on August 25. Picking began on September 4, with Riesling still too unripe. Cooler weather and welcome rain in late September helped to push Riesling to ripeness. Picking concluded on October 5 with the Riesling fruit from Grand Cru Hengst. Notwithstanding this clearly anguished summary, the wines acquit themselves well, and Meyer noted that ferments were smooth and swift in 2023. The Rieslings are concentrated with some rounded fruit, but the star is the Pinot Gris from Brand, a wine full of verve.