Jean-Michel Deiss is dedicated to nurturing specific terroirs which produce unique distinctive wines that are true to their origins.
Unlike many producers in Alsace, he markets a number of wines using the vineyard alone as identity not the grape variety as we often see from this winemaking region. He calls these Vins de Terroirs and they are 'field blends' of varietals that are dominated by their soil and position.
Engelgarten is one of these wines - we enjoyed a bottle the other night with an Aisian inspired dish of duck cooked in orange juice with star anise, lemon grass, chilli, fish sauce and spring onions.
The Engelgarten vineyard is just a stone's throw away from the Bergheim medieval fortress. Its gravelly soil and particularly dry September provide super ripe Riesling grapes whose style dominates the final wine although Pinot Gris, Beurot, Muscat and Pinot Noir are also in the blend being planted alongside in the vineyard.
A delicious dry wine with a tight minerality and with notes of white flower, bitter orange rind and pear. It has a slight hint of petrol on the nose and great length.
As a food and wine match - if I were honest - a wine with a little residual sugar on the palate would have worked better. The orange notes in the wine worked well with the flavours of the dish but the heat from the chilli would have been softened by a slightly less mineral note.
Unlike many producers in Alsace, he markets a number of wines using the vineyard alone as identity not the grape variety as we often see from this winemaking region. He calls these Vins de Terroirs and they are 'field blends' of varietals that are dominated by their soil and position.
Engelgarten is one of these wines - we enjoyed a bottle the other night with an Aisian inspired dish of duck cooked in orange juice with star anise, lemon grass, chilli, fish sauce and spring onions.
The Engelgarten vineyard is just a stone's throw away from the Bergheim medieval fortress. Its gravelly soil and particularly dry September provide super ripe Riesling grapes whose style dominates the final wine although Pinot Gris, Beurot, Muscat and Pinot Noir are also in the blend being planted alongside in the vineyard.
A delicious dry wine with a tight minerality and with notes of white flower, bitter orange rind and pear. It has a slight hint of petrol on the nose and great length.
As a food and wine match - if I were honest - a wine with a little residual sugar on the palate would have worked better. The orange notes in the wine worked well with the flavours of the dish but the heat from the chilli would have been softened by a slightly less mineral note.
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