Gewürztraminer Sonnenglanz Grand Cru 2017

A distinctive Alsatian white wine with plenty of aroma and complex depth. An intense scent rises from the glass: rose, hibiscus and Earl Grey tea combine with apricot, orange zest, orange liqueur and marzipan. The colour is a radiant golden yellow.

The Sonnenglanz vineyard lies just outside the village to the northwest, at the very edge of the foothills, at 220 to 270 metres and facing southeast. The microclimate is very favourable and particularly dry, with barely more than 500 mm of rainfall a year. The subsoil consists of tertiary conglomerate from the limestones of the Rhine rift valley interlayered with marls from the Eocene-Oligocene. The result is a fairly heavy, well-structured and very stony limestone soil.

Pure Gewürztraminer, grown on this clay-limestone site, known within the estate for opulent Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris. Andrée Trapet took over the family estate in 2002 and works with her husband Jean-Louis according to biodynamic principles; since 2018 their sons Pierre and Louis have run the day-to-day work. In the vineyards, échalas, traditional wooden stakes, support each vine individually, the soils are cover-cropped, and copper and sulphur use is kept to a minimum.

Sweetness and acidity are in harmony, giving the wine liveliness. Finesse and structure add further dimension, carrying the 14.0% ABV and the lush residual sweetness. Unmistakably Gewürztraminer.

Chestnut ravioli with pear and duck liver. Also Livar pork belly, cooked for 36 hours, with grilled octopus, parmesan ravioli, basil foam, spiced tomatoes and tomato gel. To finish, baked Bleu d'Auvergne on kumquat ragout.

Sonnenglanz is one of four Grand Cru sites of Domaine Trapet Alsace, alongside Schlossberg, Schoenenbourg and Sporen. In total, the family farms 15 hectares around Riquewihr.