5516 GERARD SCHUELLER ALSACE GRAND CRU PFERSIGBERG RIESLING 2012 750ml

Grand Cru Pfersigberg is the domaine’s flagship wine — a wine in which the full potential of this Grand Cru site meets Bruno’s brilliant winemaking, resulting in exceptional energy and complexity. Wines from this vineyard are all exciting in their own way, from “H,” made from Hernla, the finest parcel on Pfersigberg, to the macerated cuvée “Pige,” and “Le Verre est dans Le Fruit,” which was created after INAO refused to classify it as Grand Cru because of its singular character. Still, Grand Cru Pfersigberg remains the domaine’s true masterpiece. At release, it was tightly wound and even somewhat inscrutable, but now, after more than ten years, it is beginning to reveal its full character.

Grand Cru Pfersigberg — In German, “Pfersig” means peach and “Berg” means hill or mountain. The name is said to come from the many wild peach trees that once grew around the vineyard. According to legend, grape growing began here as early as Roman times, and the vineyard’s name appears in documents from the 16th century, making it a site with a remarkably long and noble history.

It lies on a steep east- to southeast-facing slope at an altitude of 260 to 330 metres. Protected from rain clouds by the Vosges Mountains to the west, the site is exceptionally dry and receives sunlight to the fullest, making it known as an area where grapes can ripen to perfection.

The soil is a complex mix of shell limestone containing Triassic fossils from around 230 million years ago, Jurassic limestone, marl, and sandstone. This ancient calcareous soil gives the grapes a taut, crystal-like acidity and an intense mineral character.

This terroir shows its full potential especially with Riesling and Gewurztraminer. The Riesling is refined and elegantly structured, with pure fruit such as lemon and white peach, combined with a finely etched mineral tension reminiscent of flint and wet chalk. It has a wine of great class, and its true value emerges especially with long bottle aging.