Alsace

The culture, gastronomy and fairy-tale villages reflect Alsace’s cultural heritage: part-German, part-French, but always Alsatian. Close to the German border, southwest of the city of Strasbourg, Alsace is not only a source of richly aromatic white wines; it is also home to the potent cheese Münster, great gingerbread and claims to host the world’s oldest Christmas market.

Alsace has a particular affinity to four white varieties: Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris and Muscat, and, unlike other French wine regions, wine labels helpfully state which grape the wine is made with, rather than expecting you to know which grape variety is in each appellation. In the red department, a warming climate has done its bit for improving the ripeness – and quality – of Pinot Noir.

Despite its fairly northerly location, Alsace is one of the driest wine regions in France, thanks to the protection of the Vosges Mountains, which provide excellent conditions for both ripening grapes in the autumn and skiing in the winter.

The region’s finest wines typically come from one of Alsace’s 50-odd vineyards that are designated Alsace Grand Cru such as Altenberg de Bergheim, Pfersigberg or Rangen. These vineyards will typically be displayed on the labels although Trimbach’s Clos Sainte Hune fails to mention both Grand Cru and its vineyard – Rosacker – on its bottle. It remains an icon in its own right.

Alsatian Rieslings are quite different to those across the German border as they are typically dry – save for the late harvest and often-botrytised styles that are labelled Vendange Tardive (VT) and Sélection de Grains Nobles (SGN) respectively. Its Gewürztraminers have no parallel, offering richness and flamboyant aromatics, generally dry or off-dry. Unlike Pinot Gris elsewhere, Alsatian examples tend to offer rich flavours, hinting at florals and smoky notes. There are also a handful of producers making excellent blends of these varieties including Marcel Deiss.

Alsace remains one of the classics, and for those who favour purity of fruit and clear site expression without any oak-derived flavours, this should be a go-to region.