Producer: DOMAINE CHARLES FREY
Appellation of Origin: AOC ALSACE GRAND CRU FRANKSTEIN
Variety: 100% Gewurztraminer
Harvested from the San Sebastian vineyards within Lieu Dy Frankstein.
Vinification: Pressed without hardening, fermented for 3 weeks in used barrels using wild yeasts, aged on the lees for 10 months in large barrels.
Residual sugar: 24.3g/l
JAN code: 4582565787788
2018 Vintage Review
Wine Enthusiast: 93 points
Glossy greenish yellow. In addition to the aroma of various fruits, it also has the aroma of white flowers and minerals. Smooth texture. In addition to the plump fruitiness, you can feel the pleasant acidity and minerals. This is a small family-run domaine located in the small village of Dambach-la-Ville, which produces the 13th Grand Cru "Frankstein" from the north of Alsace. Frankstein is a Grand Cru with a soil composition that contains a lot of excellent granite that is more than 600 million years old, and it is blessed with good sunlight. After the Second World War, grandfather Joseph Frey started bottling, and the tradition has been passed down to his son Charles and grandson and current owner Dominique. Dominique says that if he had to express the policy of the domaine in one phrase, it would be "protecting the terroir and wine." In 1997, they started organic farming in accordance with Ecocert and have now switched to biodynamic farming. We use a preparation* made from plant, animal and mineral ingredients in response to the close relationship between plants, soil and the moon. This preparation is used only when necessary, at a specific rhythm according to the sowing calendar, to maintain the biological balance of the terroir and strive to ensure that the taste of the harvested grapes is directly reflected in the taste of the wine, producing wines with elegant and complex flavors.
※Preparation
Biodynamic farming does not use chemicals or fertilizers, but instead sprays a mixture called "preparation" on the fields. Natural flowers, minerals, and cow dung are mixed and stuffed into cow horns (female only), then left to sit in the soil for about six months. The timing of the use of preparations, farm work, and pruning dates are all based on a sowing calendar (commonly known as the biocalendar), which incorporates astrological elements such as where the moon passes through the zodiac and the Earth's orbital plane.
◎Awarded the highest rating in Les bonnes addresses du vin bio
Journalist Jean-Marc Qualité, who has been observing organic (logic-dynamic) winemaking in France for 22 years, publishes this wine every two years. This guide, which compiles information about organic (logic-dynamic) wine producers and their wines, awarded this wine the highest rating of four heart marks in the 2006-2008 edition (the vintage featured was the 2004 vintage).
[Excerpt from published article]
A brilliant pale yellow. In the mouth, the flavor of flowers, especially hawthorn, spreads, and the aftertaste is mineral. A very well-balanced, beautiful Riesling with floral and fruity notes. A wine worth paying attention to.
◎Highly rated by the Guide Dussert-Gerber Vins de France
The French wine guide, Guide Dussert-Gerber Vins de France 2006, gave this wine a high rating of four out of five stars.