Domaine Weinbach Alsace Les Treilles du Loup Gewürztraminer 2021

At the foot of the majestic Schlossberg hill, in a setting of vines and roses, the Domaine Weinbach "wine stream", named after the small stream that crosses it, was built in 1612 by the Capuchin monks. Sold as national property during the French Revolution, the Estate was acquired in 1898 by the Faller brothers who passed it on to their son and nephew Théo. A great figure in the Alsatian vineyard and ardent promoter of its recognition as an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, Théo Faller works for the quality of Alsace wines and the development of their incomparable terroirs and grape varieties. In love with his property, he develops it, enlarges it and embellishes it.

From 1979, his wife Colette and his daughters Catherine and Laurence demonstrated the same passion for the great wines of Alsace and the same unfailing attachment to quality. Since 2016, Catherine Faller has been running the Domaine with her sons Eddy and Théo.

This Gewürz is drawn from a parcel of 40–50-year-old vines from the Wolfreben lieu-dit in the Kaysersberg valley between the Clos des Capucins and the village of Kaysersberg. The soils are composed of sandy silt over granite pebbles. The Gewürz in this terroir ripens early, producing wines with complex aromatics and powerful concentration. The 2021 is just the third release for this single-vineyard bottling.

Finishing with 15 g/L residual, it’s an explosively aromatic wine redolent of petal, lychee, rose water and Turkish delight. Although intense and viscous, this is so wonderfully refined, pure and savoury with all the classic Weinbach precision and detail. The driven finish is epic and studded with the mouth-watering freshness of bitter grapefruit and mineral steel. Biodynamic.

Such an exciting and radical gewurz with intense pink grapefruit character, but after a little aeration the rosewater and exotic fruit character of the grape comes through delicately on the nose. Powerful, yet so cool, dry and restrained. Then comes the extraordinary finish that has a freshness which almost knocks you off your chair. The final impression is of wet stone and very dry. - Stuart Pigott, Jamessuckling.com, 95 Points

The Finer Details
Style - White Wine
Varietal - Gewurztraminer
Country - France
Region - Alsace
Vintage - 2021
Bottle Size - 750ml
ABV - 14%