Alsace... At Last!

Vins d'Alsace Rietsch

France, Alsace, Mittelbergheim

The long-awaited Blanc & Rouge au Litre 2019 have finally landed!

We've had a chat with Jean-Pierre:

"The Blanc au Litre 2019 consists of Auxerrois and Riesling. I have actually also added a good amount from the 2018 harvest, as we've had an abundance of wine that year, compared to 2019. Actually there is even more 2018 than 2019 juice in this wine, I would say about 2/3 of 2018 and 1/3 of 2019. As as a result the wine is more creamy and round. It was just bottled in April but I have the feeling it doesn't need much more time to mature, it is ready to drink now. This is an Edelzwicker cuvee, which is an Alsace appellation. Next year it will be Vin de France like the red one."

"The 2018 addition had long aging on lees. As it was a great harvest that year we didn't have to sort out much rotten grapes, they were pretty good quality already. They then went onto the pneumatic press. I have added a small amount of sulphur into the 2/3 of wine of 2018, but none into 2019. In general the sulphur amount is still very low.

"What is new for the Rouge au Litre 2019 is that it now has an addition of Pinot Gris, so the appellation changed to Vin de France. In Alsace, if you want to keep the Edelzwicker appellation for the reds, you are only allowed to put in Pinot Noir, no Pinot Gris. So that is the reason for the change.
The wine is made from a semi-carbonic fermentation and was macerated for 22 days. It was then aged in steel vats for six months. I have added 10mg of sulphur on bottling.

"This year the harvest is already looking quite good. We've had a good amount of rain over the winter months, which brought a good water reserve to the soil for dryer days. The vines are developing lovely so far, we are now at the end of the flowering phase, with the fruits starting to set very soon. Right now the cool temperatures in Alsace are helping to keep the growth spurts in control."

Now in Stock

WHITE
NEW 2019 Blanc au Litre - Riesling, Auxerrois


RED
NEW 2019 Rouge au Litre - Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris


SPARKLING
2016/17 Extra Brut - Non Dose - Auxerrois, Chardonnay
Natural fermentation from indigenous yeasts. Aged in the tank for one year. Bottling was done with an addition of fresh grape juice from the new crop in 2018.

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Another Trade Tasting

Join us for our Autumn Wine Tasting on Monday, October 14, which is very kindly being hosted by the team at Berber & Q grill in Haggerston.

We'll be showing new arrivals alongside our good friends Otros Vinos and Wright's Wines. This time we will also be welcoming brand new importer Beattie & Roberts.

No RSVP necessary, just pop in if you work in the trade.

See you there!

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