Muscat Classic 2015

Not a sweet wine as many people expect it to be, but a dry, crisp and grapey Muscat, full of aromas.

2015 will go down as an exceptional vintage year for the whole of France. After one of the hottest and driest summers since 2003 and a harvest quality to rivals those of the great "solar" vintages of 1945, 1976, 1989 and 2009, the Alsace region will be no exception.
The year started with quite normal weather conditions, a total of 6 days below freezing (up to -6°C) during the winter. The spring was, however, pleasant and sunny. The vines budded slightly later than usual, around the 13 April, and blossomed during the first weeks of June, indicating an early vintage. This was normal considering the low rain fall, a record of only 30mm between 4 May and 24 July! These dry conditions were compounded by a heatwave that lasted for almost the whole of July.
By the time the grapes started to ripen, the vines were suffering, especially in the more well-drained soils with limited reserves of water. Riquewihr and its loamy soil seemed to have escaped the worst of this and the heavy rain that came in mid-August saved the harvest just in time.

We started grape-picking on the 10 September, three days later than the rest of the Alsace, and the first grapes to arrive in the winery gave every indication of an exceptional vintage year. The grapes were perfectly healthy and ripe; their supple acidity was a taste of great wine to come. The Pinots, especially the magnificent Pinot Noir, of this great "solar" year were highly appreciated.
Only one day of rain disrupted the harvest, which was already well underway at the time.
The rapid acceleration of the ripening during the third week and a nice outbreak of botrytis meant the most part of our Riesling de Schoenenbourg were harvested late, and once again the Engelkritt (Angels' Vine) won us not one but two of the "Sélection de Grains Nobles" awards for this grape variety, the most concentrated being at a potential of 23°!

This wine is partly composed of 2 young estate plots, including one on the Schoenenbourg planted with Muscat d'Alsace.
Harvested exclusively by hand from the very beginning of harvest to ensure perfectlt sound grapes and good natural levels of acidity.

After pressing, the must is decanted for a few hours, then fermented in temperature-controlled vats (at 18 to 24°C). The wine is racked just once, before natural clarification during the course of the winter. The following spring, the wine is lightly filtered just before bottling, and the bottles are then aged in our cellars until released for sale.
The whole production of this wine is closed with DIAM the cork without the risk of cork taint.