Weinbach Alsace Les Treilles du Loup Gewürztraminer 2021

Biodynamic. This “radical” Gewürz is drawn from a parcel of 40–50-year-old vines from the Wolfreben lieu-dit in the Kaysersberg valley between the Clos des Capucins and the village of Kaysersberg. The soils are composed of sandy silt over granite pebbles. The Gewürz in this terroir ripens early, producing wines with complex aromatics and powerful concentration. The 2021 is just the third release for this single-vineyard bottling.

Finishing with 15 g/L residual, it’s an explosively aromatic wine redolent of petal, lychee, rose water and Turkish delight. Although intense and viscous, this is so wonderfully refined, pure and savoury with all the classic Weinbach precision and detail. The driven finish is epic and studded with the mouth-watering freshness of bitter grapefruit and mineral steel. Although we would love to try this with the savoury/smoky tarte flambée—spicy Asian dishes should be the go-to.