Open Monday to Saturday 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. 1:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. - Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Frédéric & Myriam SCHMITT
This Grand Cru vineyard faces south-east and covers 28.15 hectares at an altitude of 250 to 350 metres.
The subsoil is chalky sandstone and micaceous-sandstone (Muschelkalk underneath and Buntsandstein/red sandstone on the top). The texture ranges from limestone-sandstone to marly limestone-sandstone.
Pfingstberg wines are highly complex, but austere when young so they always need one or two years before you start to open them. Their long, delicate acidity levels ensure they can be kept for a long time. These characteristics are partly due to the forest on top of the summit which ensures that Pfingstberg is provided with a constant supply of water and remains consistently cool.
Our vintage is named after Paradis street – the location of our Domaine’s historic plot of land – and is located right in the heart of the Grand Cru on one of the steepest sections.
Our Riesling plots lie up on the high sections that are dominated by sandstone and limestone. It this which gives this grape its finesse and power.
Gewurztraminers are planted in the marliest soil so they can benefit from all the richness provided by the clay.
Bollenberg is in many ways a very distinct hill. Rising to an altitude of 360m, this limestone massif nestled between the Vosges plain and the foothills comprises some 300 hectares of vines and enjoys a serious reputation.
First of all, with naturalists because this very dry site is one of the most arid regions of France, with an average rainfall of 450mm per year. This is demonstrated by its native flora and fauna which is remarkably Mediterranean in flavour: orchids (the Bee Orchid), reptiles (the Western Green Lizard) and birds (the Eurasian Hoopoe).
Historians are not to be outdone because the forces at work on the soil on this site are the source of numerous tales and legends. The quality and personality of the wines that emerge from this slope have been recognised for many years.
We need to distinguish between two main entities on this massif:
– on the western part facing the village of Orschwihr, the soil is marly limestone. On the medium to steep slopes, heavy warm soils benefit from good reserves of water. Westerly winds which sweep through the village rise back up these slopes, regularly ventilating this hillside. It is no coincidence therefore that the majority of street names on this slope contain the word for air (Luft) e.g. Mittlere Luft, Kleine Luft, etc.
These various characteristics are the reason why we produce Vendanges Tardives (late-picked wines) and Sélections de Grains Nobles here.
The wines are rich, opulent and exuberant. The botrytis which causes this very desirable noble rot develops easily.
– the majority of the eastern part is characterised by the thinness of the soil, and sometimes even of the bedrock. Scarce water resources on this very sunny terroir produce really robust, aromatic, full-bodied wines with massive acidity. The wines here are more austere than those on the western slopes or other sections where there is more clay, but they have a very strong personality.
We produce the entire range of Alsace grape varieties there.
Three Bollenberg terroirs are applying for the designation of Premier Cru as part of developing this in Alsace: Neuberg on the west slope, Luft on the east slope and Effenberg on the south slope.
This Grand Cru, named Zinnkoepflé or Sonnenkoepflé, takes its name from the (old) German word for sun (Sonne or Zinn) while ‘Kopf’ means ‘head’. Zinnkoepflé therefore means ‘little head in the sun’.
Our vineyard is situated on the boundary of two municipalities, Soultzmatt and Westhalten, at an altitude of between 250m and 428m. This Grand Cru – grown on a majestic south and south-east-facing hillside with rugged, steep slopes supported by low walls – dominates this picturesque, warm valley called Vallis Praenobilis in the old texts.
Protected from the wind and rain by the Petit and the Grand Ballon d’Alsace mountains, and planted on very stony limestone-sandstone soil, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Riesling and a small amount of Muscat are the pride of this Grand Cru.
Zinnkoepflé wines are characterised by their rich, aromatic and full-bodied bouquet for Gewurztraminers while Rieslings are all finesse and harmony. These are wines to keep. They are fine wines for fine dining. The Muschelkalk shell limestone, dotted with sandstone inclusions which lie beneath the Zinnkoepflé soils, contributes an aromatic finesse and a remarkable acidity which provide the underlying structure for the superb power of the wines from this terroir.
A relative humidity of between 70-75% is ideal.
If the cellar is too dry, the cork might dry out and shrink and so provide a less good hermetic seal. On the other hand, even if storage conditions are too humid they pose little risk to the wine provided that the room is well-ventilated.
Never store wine in boxes.
All of our grapes are harvested by hand by successive rounds of sorting and harvesting to achieve optimum ripeness and quality. The first sorting and harvesting occurs on the actual vine and a second occurs on the sorting table before pressing.
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