Gewurztraminer Grand Cru

Elegant wine will delight slightly sweet wines lovers and will pair with lacquered duck, foie gras terrines and desserts made with shortbread pasta

The Lorentz family has been making wine since 1836 in the heart of the Alsace which lies in the northeast corner of France along the Rhine River. Charles Lorentz Sr. grandfather of the current president of Gustave Lorentz developed his vineyards on the hills of Altenberg de Bergheim in the foothills of the Vosges Mountains which has grown to 85 acres in this extraordinary terroir with four acres planted on the hills of the Grand Cru Kanzlerberg and 30 acres in the Grand Cru Altenberg de Bergheim.

After the dry summer and autumn of 2015, the first half of this year was marked by heavy precipitation. This phenomenon linked to low spring temperatures highly retarded the vegetative cycle. Happily, those temperatures increased around the beginning of May, which allowed a vegetative cycle rebound. Given this surrounding humidity, the threat of mildew was palpable in the whole vineyard. Flowering started in mid-June and lasted approximately 15 days in rather difficult conditions as a result of persisting rainfalls and temperatures which were far below normal for the season. Even though July was also dominated by water, a warm and dry weather settled from the beginning of August. The vineyard also experienced a heatwave during the second half of August. Those high temperatures allowed to maintain very satisfying sanitary conditions. Producers were able to notice that maturities pursued their evolutions in a positive way with interesting acidity levels and most importantly, in an optimum sanitary state.

The wine goes through two rackings, the first to separate the lees from the wine and the second to clarify the wine. It sits in vats for around 10-11 months prior to bottling.

The pressed juice is separated from the free-run juice and undergoes 12 to 24 hours of debourbage (settling), to eliminate impurities, which are then filtered out. Fermentation takes place, using a combination of natural and selected yeasts, in old oak vats.