Just in: striking 2021’s and singular 2019’s from JP Rietsch in Mittelbergheim, Alsace.
Read moreA Tasting Of JP Rietsch
Next Monday at Weino BIB, please join us and our friend Fernando of Otros Vinos in a joint-tasting of our winemakers who flex the highest cuvée count. In our corner; JP Rietsch of the Alsace with 10 wines in our cellar at the moment and in Fernando’s corner; Nuria Renom of Catalunya with 12 wines.
We’ll be pouring JP's wines from 10am until 6pm on Monday 7th December, and we're really looking forward to seeing you all there.
As per usual for these times; we will be operating tastings by appointment only so make sure not to miss out and book your spot now.
A Chat with Jean-Pierre Rietsch
Vins d'Alsace Rietsch
France, Alsace, Mittelbergheim
The Rietsch estate has been in the family for seven generations and the land was previously used for tobacco and crops. It was Jean-Pierre’s parents who started cultivating vines in the 1970s, handing on to Jean-Pierre in 1987.
Although Jean-Pierre is now retired, he still contributes to the daily running, assisted by Pierre-Etienne Grieshaber. While another contributing company – Le Main Verte – coordinates the manual work in the vineyards, the domaine is still very much driven by a family-led culture. The vineyard is naturally cultivated, with terroir at the heart of the operation and no use of chemicals.
We've had a chat with Jean-Pierre on the 2018 Rouge and Blanc au Litre cuvées:
2018 brought us an amazing harvest. We've had a big abundance on grapes, which were really healthy and of great quality. The Rouge au Litre turned out very well and a bit more concentrated than usual. We did have our challenges in the cellar while making this wine due to volatile acidity during fermentation. I had to add 30mg/l of sulphur to help stabilise the wine.
As for the Blanc au Litre, on the contrary to the Rouge, the high yield brought less concentration as well as less acidity. It is a great wine to drink, and I can personally attest to that!
This year we will start the harvest in early September. So far it has been a complicated year as we have lost half of our grapes due to mildew as well as the heatwave this June/July. At the moment there are still a few areas affected by oidium (powdery mildew), so we need to select the unaffected grapes for harvest. In order to balance out the harvest results I will be blending some of the 2018 and 2019 vintages.
White*
NEW 2018 Blanc au Litre - Riesling, Sylvaner, Gewurztraminer
Red*
NEW 2018 Rouge au Litre - Pinot Noir
Sparkling
2015 Extra Brut - Non Dose - Auxerrois, Chardonnay
* Due to high demand we are already nearly out of stock! But don't worry, we will be getting another shipment soon. Register your interest here