Marcel Deiss Gruenspiel

If anyone has "broken eggs" in Alsace more than anyone else in the region, it is Jean-Michel Deiss. He has challenged everything from the appellation of origin system, with its often very large grand cru, to the Alsatians' tendency to bottle single-vineyard wines, creating field-blend vineyards starting with top grand cru wines he owned. He and his son Matthieu never stop shaking up the region, producing wines that take a huge distance from the boring, sophisticated, technical style of Alsace. They "weaponize" some of the best terroir in Haut-Rhine, in which they built a system of vineyard hierarchy against Alsace law and on the Burgundy model. The Gruenspiel terroir is one of the Deiss' "crus d'Alsace" (unofficially premier cru) in their village of Bergheim. A blend of Gewürztraminer, Riesling and Pinot Noir. Muscular, masculine, with a tannic structure unexpected for a white wine, giving it the feel of an Amaro, and extremely ripe fruit from the vineyard that "attracts" the sun with its exposure.