Country: France
Region: Wolxheim, Alsace
Appellation: Appellation Alsace Contrôlée
Grape variety: 100% Gewurztraminer
Style: White
ABV: 14.5% by vol.
Yield: 25ha/hl
Terroir: Shell limestone
Average age of vines: 35+ years
Farming: Dry-farmed, Fukuoka method. Complete non-working of the soils. Certified organic.
Harvest: By hand
Vinification: Direct press of select whole clusters using gentle pneumatic press. Spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts. No fining. No filtration.
Aging: 12+ months in Alsatian foudre
Sulfur added: None
Notes: The Muschelkalk—German for shell-bearing limestone—is a sequence of sedimentary rock strata stretching through central and western Europe. This Middle Triassic (240 to 230 million years) deposit, originally formed in a land-locked sea, and its lenticular banks contain a plethora of fossil shells found on the surface or subsurface. The vines of this particular plot, like many of the domain, are surrounded by woodland; thus Bruno terms it “the marine within the forest.”
Dried apricot and floral nose. Intensely vibrating acidity with salivating salinity and tropical fruit notes. Bone-dry with a texture and resonating energy that lingers far beyond the last sip. Available in very limited quantities.