Riesling Roche Calcaire 2017

An off-dry Riesling that first tells its story through the soil: earthy and chalky notes open the wine, followed by orange, vine peach, honey and candied ginger. Then spices such as cardamom and turmeric, followed by tree bark, truffle and meat jus with delicate hints of maturity. In the glass, a sparkling, intense golden yellow.

The grapes grow on various limestone rocks of the estate, mostly on 1.2 hectares of Riesling planted by Olivier Humbrecht's father around the village of Gueberschwihr. These are several very small vineyard plots, each too small for its own vinification. Limestone soils ripen later, retain more water and suffer less from heat and water stress.

Riesling. The high acidity and low pH make these wines ferment very slowly; in the 2017 vintage this left residual sugar behind. Bottling took place very late, in January 2020, hence the Late Release. Olivier Humbrecht, the first Frenchman to hold the Master of Wine title, farms 42 hectares biodynamically, with conversion begun in 1996. Yields lie between 30 and 40 hectolitres per hectare, the wines remain on the lees for at least six months and do not leave the cellar before one to two years of ageing.

Charming and expansive, with fresh pineapple and ginger and a fine spiciness that mingles with the sweetness. A reductive, slow-developing wine that, despite its advanced age, still seems youthful and has plenty of development potential ahead of it. 12.5% vol.

Dishes with acidity and sweetness, happily with some spice too: lemongrass soup with coriander, ginger and prawns, spicy chilli-basil chicken with rice or, to finish, honey-glazed pineapple with green tea ice cream.

The Humbrecht family have been winegrowers since 1620; since 2019 Pierre Émile Humbrecht has been working at the estate as the eleventh generation. The late bottling gives the wine the time it needs anyway after its vinification.