Marcel Deiss Schlossberg Grand Cru

Deiss's logic behind the importance of field-blends for the terroir of Alsace is very simple. If the terroir of the 'Côte d'Or', with only two varieties, 'burns' the minds of even those with a deep knowledge of the region, imagine having to 'translate' into a similarly complex 'mosaic', such as that of Alsace, more than six different varieties. It makes sense for the producer to start thinking in terms of variety rather than terroir. That's why even his grand cru vineyards are planted with field-blends, the ultimate "victory" of terroir over variety. And the terroir of Schlossberg is stunning. An extremely steep vineyard built on terraces, its complex (mainly granitic) soils "mark" the geological formation of Alsace, some 330 million years back. A wine of mainly Riesling together with other Alsatian varieties, of amazing ripeness and concentration (stone fruit compote), but with a rigorous minerality, crystalline dimension and a phenolic aftertaste of whole minutes.