Domaine Ostertag Heissenberg Riesling 2021

Limited to 12 bottles only! Grab yours while supplies last!

Heissenberg means “the hot mountain”, so named for its heat-driven microclimate. This lieudit located in Nothalten has a particularly hot micro-climate, due to its south-facing exposure combined with a limited airflow. It's a very steep hillside, located in a small “combe” between a granitic and a sandstony massif. As a result, it has a bit of both geological formations with mainly pink sandstone but also gneiss and a splash of volcanic ash resulting from the nearby Muenchberg.

Heissenberg is a candidate in the current process of creating premiers crus in Alsace. This is a vineyard where only a careful farming with low yields can produce interesting wines. The climatic personality of the place is so strong, that without a terroir vision, the wines result flabby and flat. But with an organic and biodynamic approach, old vines and strict yield control, the sub-soil expresses in a unique, dense and structured mineral core that brings a very special balance. This is what the label shows: when sky and earth are in perfect balance through the vine, harmony comes in the wine.

The 0.75 ha of vines are close-planted and grown biodynamically, like all the domaine. They produce small, very concentrated and aromatically rich grapes, of exceptional structure and intensity. The wines are never based on a high acidity, but rather on dry extract that brings a combination of noble bitters and salty minerality. It was delicately airbag-pressed as whole bunches for 10 hours, fermented in stainless steel vats with natural yeasts and aged on its lees. It's a dry wine, certified organic and biodynamic. - Arthur Ostertag