Latest news with #Trimbach
New Statesman
22-05-2025
- New Statesman
Alsace's wines defy its turbulent history
The taste of wine is the taste of fermented grape juice: diverse, distracting, shockingly beautiful. And there's more. Wine's flavours, famously, can convey origin with great precision, though the mechanisms at play resist easy definition. Behind that, underwriting both our understanding of wine regions and the ability of those working in them to prevail on the market, lies history. History is wine's forgotten ingredient. Historical trauma may control commercial cycles (and with them the destiny of wines) centuries after an event. Alsace is the proof. Alsace's fermented grape juice offers, in my opinion, France's finest value white wine. Our home staple is Alsace Sylvaner, produced by the Wolfberger cooperative: sappy, vinous, textured, affable with food, as refreshing as it is satisfying. It outclasses brittle Sauvignon Blanc and gestural Chardonnay from all other sources at the same modest price. Alsace's greatest hillside vineyards will, within a century, qualitatively rival the Premier and Grand Cru white wines of Bourgogne. Alsace should be Burgundy writ large. The region's leading growers include some of French wine's deepest and most daring thinkers (notably Olivier Humbrecht MW of Zind-Humbrecht and Jean-Michel Deiss of Marcel Deiss), as well as its most fastidious craftsmen (such as Jean Boxler of Albert Boxler and the Faller family of Weinbach). Its two great merchant houses (Trimbach and Hugel) stand on the verge of exciting quality transformations – thanks to a new generation now prepared to embrace great single-site viticulture for its own estate wines. Alsace is almost ready to outgrow its history. It had a slow start in Roman times (the Rhine, this far upriver, was less navigable for freight than at Koblenz and Köln). In the Middle Ages, though, Alsace came to rival Bordeaux: by now this was the Rhine's most significant vineyard zone, supplying Germany and England from Strasbourg, and Switzerland from Colmar. Then came catastrophe. The Thirty Years' War (1618-48) was chaotic and savage. This conflict killed perhaps 20 per cent of Europe's population, but a far higher percentage of Alsaciens. Marauding, half-starved bands of mercenaries roamed unchecked, firing villages and destroying vines and crops; corpses swung from trees. These decades brought ruin. They also left a legacy of religious and political conflict that was to endure for 300 years in this much-contested zone. Imagine being born in Colmar in 1869. You never once leave the town; you die, 75 years later, in your natal bed. Yet you'd have changed nationality five times: French, German, French again, Nazi German and finally French. These are hardly the conditions under which a fine-wine culture can flourish. The replanting of Alsace's vineyards after phylloxera (under the German empire) was grimly industrial – to protect the long-standing, high-quality viticulture of the Rheingau and the Mosel downriver. The region flaunted 30,000 hectares in 1828; by 1948, just 9,500 hectares remained. Its quality potential had been utterly squandered, enjoying no legal protection. Even the decree for the Alsace AOC, first ordained in 1945, languished in a legal wilderness until final adoption in 1962. The Alsace we know today began to take form with the elevation of the Schlossberg vineyard to Grand Cru status in 1975. Fifty years, but just 50 turns: winemakers only get just one chance a year to perform. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Nothing is yet perfect, but improvements are accelerating. Dry wines are more common than they were and should now say 'Sec' on the label. The market is winnowing inadequate Grands Crus from the great historic sites that merit this status; growers are identifying their own parcellaires (single vineyards) within the overly large Grand Cru zones, and lieu-dit (unclassified named vineyards with a historical tradition) can be identified on labels, too. Riesling is better than it's ever been; Gewürztraminer still promises a gorgeously sensual encounter; fine blends are on the way back. Alsace's potential is, once again, what it was… in Shakespeare's day. [See also: Why George Osborne still runs Britain] Related This article appears in the 21 May 2025 issue of the New Statesman, Britain's Child Poverty Epidemic
Irish Times
17-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Riesling, muscadet, sherry: Time to give these unloved wines a second chance
This week some great unloved wines . They include once popular regions, countries and grape varieties that have fallen out of favour for a variety of reasons. Often it happens when the producers of a popular region meet increased demand with cheaper and inferior versions of the real thing. Not surprisingly sales drop and it can be difficult to rebuild a name. Muscadet, sherry, and German wine arguably fall into this category. Other wines have managed to seduce us back. Austria, once shunned by Irish wine drinkers following a scandal in the 1980s, is now back on our shelves, where it is joined by an ever-growing array of fantastic Beaujolais. Muscadet has always puzzled me. It is generally light, fresh and fruity, perfect for all those albariño and sauvignon blanc drinkers. The multiples offer decent inexpensive versions, and some of the independents have a few seriously good wines that offer great value. At one stage, Alsace was one of our go-to wine regions. Names such as Trimbach, Hugel and Schlumberger appeared in every restaurant wine list and wine shop. As with Muscadet, the style is generally very appealing; fresh, dry white wines without any oak influence. READ MORE Riesling in general, and German riesling in particular, is one of the world's great wines. Wines labelled Trocken are dry, those labelled Kabinett deliciously delicate, low alcohol and off-dry – perfect for sipping over the summer months. [ Two German wines that are a little bit more expensive, but certainly worth it Opens in new window ] I have come to accept that there will never be a real sherry revolution. It will remain an object of adoration to a small group of aficionados (I include myself) who are aware how great these wines are and what value they offer. Muscadet de Sèvre & Maine Sur Lie, Château de l'Auberdière 2023 Muscadet de Sèvre & Maine Sur Lie, Château de l'Auberdière 2023 12%, €9.20, €11.50 Light and fresh with mouth-watering orchard fruits, lemon zest and a lip-smacking dry finish. This would be perfect with mussels, oysters and other seafood. From Aldi Kuentz-Bas Mosaïk Riesling 2022 Kuentz-Bas Mosaïk Riesling 2022 12.5%, €21.95 An excellent racy refreshing dry riesling with vibrant citrus and minerals. Perfect with chicken, pork and fish dishes as well as summery salads. From O'Briens Wagner Stempel Riesling Trocken 2023 Wagner Stempel Riesling Trocken 2023 12%, €23 Floral, with succulent elegant ripe peach fruits, a touch of spice and a dry finish. This would go nicely with Asian seafood and chicken dishes. From BaRossa, D4; Baggot Street Wines; Martins, D3; Green Man, D6; Donnybrook Fair; Lilith, D7; Mortons, D6 Lustau Puerto Fino Sherry Lustau Puerto Fino Sherry 15%, €13-€14 per half-bottle Delightfully racy, tangy green apples, with almonds, green olives and a lovely saline note. It finishes dry and long. Heavenly with almonds, Iberico ham and fish tapas. From Mitchells, Glasthule, Hatch Street and Avoca stores; Prim's, Kinsale; Whelehan's, Loughlinstown; The Vintry, D6; Ardkeen, Waterford; Redmonds, D6; The Wine Centre, Kilkenny; Barnhill Stores, Dalkey; Bradleys, Cork
