Alsace Gruenspiel Marcel Deiss (Domaine) Le Jeu de Verts 2011
14%
0.75L
Intensity
A slightly tannic, characterful and wonderfully unctuous wine. As the winegrower puts it: “an iron fist in a velvet glove”.
More infoLot presentation
Alsace Gruenspiel Marcel Deiss (Domaine) Le Jeu de Verts 2011
The wine
Jean-Michel Deiss is a biodynamic winegrower who, in reviving the ancestral Alsatian method of mixed-variety planting, lets the terroir really sing in the wine. On a composite and heterogenous soil the co-planting of Riesling, Pinot and Gerwürztraminer produce slightly tannic, characterful wines with a fine, full-bodied finish. This Gruenspiel cuvée is, as Jean-Michel Deiss puts it, “an iron fist in a velvet glove”.
About the Producer Marcel Deiss
Jean-Michel Deiss, (the son of Marcel Deiss, who established the property in 1949) currently manages the 27 hectares of vines, which are planted on some of Alsace's finest terroirs, including the grand cru Altenburg de Bergheim. Jean-Michel Deiss grows his vines according to biodynamic principles, a philosophy that prohibits any form of chemical treatment and combines an understanding of cosmic rhythms with work on the soil and the vines. The objective? To encourage the vines to develop as deep a root system as possible in the subsoil, thereby giving full expression to the terroir. Despite being an acknowledged master of the art of making single varietal wines such as Pinot Gris and Riesling, this exceptional winegrower has waged a veritable campaign against the traditional Alsace approach of regarding the grape variety as the essence of the wine, and granting negligible importance to the terroir. Thus he has reintroduced ancestral practices such as mixed planting of all of the traditional varieties (Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris) on the same plot, with no sorting at the harvest. The terroir then comes to the forefront, free to fully express itself without the omnipresent constraint of a single variety. After years of campaigning, Jean-Michel Deiss finally succeeded in obtaining authorisation for the application of the terms "Grand Cru" and "Premier Cru" (previously reserved for traditional cuvées) to these "vins de terroir". The names of the grape varieties have not appeared on the labels since 2005. More information : Read the article about domain Marcel Deiss on the blog
Detailed characteristics
Quantity: 1 bottle
Level: 1 NormalObservations: 1 Marked label, 1 Stained labelOrigin: private individual
Type of cellar: underground, natural cellar
Recoverable VAT: no
Original wooden case / Original case: no
French customs seal: yes
Alcohol percentage: 14 %
Region: Alsace
Appellation: Alsace
Owner: Marcel Deiss (Domaine)
Vintage: 2011
Colour: white
Peak drinking window: drink until 2026
Service temperature: 12°
Intensity: crisp
Leading aroma: white fruit
Tasting occasion: food-friendly wine