Marcel Deiss Rotenberg 2017
-
James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Field blend of Alsatian varieties. A single site in Bergheim. Southeast facing. A red soil (high in iron) with an oolitic limestone bedrock site. Indigenous yeast. Very slow, whole-cluster pressing for up to 12 hours. Fermented and aged in large ancient foudres for 12 months. Certified biodynamic.
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
This is very ripe and pretty concentrated too, but it has noble reserve, in spite of the ripe-apricot and overripe-pear aromas that pour from the glass. I love the way the wine becomes ever more elegant, the further it flows over the palate. The hint of sweetness is already beautifully integrated. Everything fits very neatly and this is just coming to its best. A co-fermented field-blend of varieties. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Celery seed and tomato leaf fragrances almost invoke a Bloody Mary. But if this wine is bold and spicy on the nose, the palate is all restraint. A satiny texture is lively with acidity and faint notes of vanilla bean, lemon zest and fennel seed. The finish is long and clean. Everything is balanced, the flavor and structure flowing smoothly together. It’s also delicate, with muscles flexing below the surface.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The golden-colored 2017 Rotenberg "La colline rouge" is pure and flinty on the generous nose that is still a bit reductive and displays ripe and elegant fruit aromas with candied and even caramel nuances. Lush and salty-piquant on the palate, with immediate grip, this is a rich and elegant but still quite racy Rotenberg that is still firm, finely bitter and less precise and open than the 2018 or 2019 at this stage. 14% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Rating: 91+
With hundreds of white grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended white wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used in white wine blends, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a variety that creates a soft and full-bodied white wine blend, like Chardonnay, would do well combined with one that is more fragrant and naturally high in acidity. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
With its fairytale aesthetic, Germanic influence and strong emphasis on white wines, Alsace is one of France’s most unique viticultural regions. This hotly contested stretch of land running north to south on France’s northeastern border has spent much of its existence as German territory. Nestled in the rain shadow of the Vosges mountains, it is one of the driest regions of France but enjoys a long and cool growing season. Autumn humidity facilitates the development of “noble rot” for the production of late-picked sweet wines, Vendange Tardive and Sélection de Grains Nobles.
The best wines of Alsace can be described as aromatic and honeyed, even when completely dry. The region’s “noble” varieties, the only ones permitted within Alsace’s 51 Grands Crus vineyards, are Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Muscat, and Pinot Gris.
Riesling is Alsace’s main specialty. In its youth, Alsace Riesling is dry, fresh and floral, but develops complex mineral and flint character with age. Gewurztraminer is known for its signature spice and lychee aromatics, and is often utilized for late harvest wines. Pinot Gris is prized for its combination of crisp acidity and savory spice as well as ripe stone fruit flavors. Muscat, vinified dry, tastes of ripe green grapes and fresh rose petal.
Other varieties grown here include Pinot Blanc, Auxerrois, Chasselas, Sylvaner and Pinot Noir—the only red grape permitted in Alsace and mainly used for sparkling rosé known as Crémant d’Alsace. Most Alsace wines are single-varietal bottlings and unlike other French regions, are also labeled with the variety name.