Domaine Ansen Geierstein Riesling 2021 (750 ml)

The Domaine Ansen Geierstein Riesling comes from a remarkable south-facing hill that is just north of Westhoffen. The earth is so dense with limestone that the ground glows a yellow hue, and the rock strata actually moves in the opposite direction of the slope, thus channeling any water that comes in to the north, and away from the vines. This extremely dry vineyard has remarkably deep roots and always shows a gorgeous minerality and elegance in the finished wine from this special terroir. Once hand-harvested, the whole bunches are gently pressed and naturally fermented in stainless steel tanks. After a light, single filtration, the wine was bottled in the spring after a 6-month rest, and then laid down for a few years to mature in bottle. The result is nothing short of spectacular, expressive, and gorgeously linear. Bright crisp apples and lemon-lime are folded into pure minerality and lead to a very long finish of clean, mouth-watering acidity. This Riesling will continue to age well for many years to come.

In the northern most hills of the Alsace AOC of eastern France, Domaine Ansen has been a family of grape growers, fruit orchard farmers, cattle raisers, and all things in between, for over 400 years. In the mid-nineties, Daniel Ansen set out to learn the trade of winemaking, spending time not only in Alsace, but also Australia, the United States, and Bordeaux, where he went to enology school. In 2010 he moved back into the old family house with his wife Karine and took over the fields from his father, looking forward to converting everything to organic viticulture, and starting to make wine from their own grapes that had always gone to a local cooperative. Slowly expanding in Alsace's divers land, Daniel farms 8.5 hectares, in 40 plots (some are as small as 2 rows of vines), to 8 varieties, on 3 different soil types (black clay, limestone, and sandstone). Careful hand harvesting, the use of stainless steel for natural fermentations and aging, and very little (to zero) sulfite use in the finished wines, he lets each grape express their natural characteristics to the fullest, be it laser acidity, sweet ripe fruit, or a combination of both.

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