Lieu dit Buehl Riesling Schieferkopf by Chapoutier 2012

Lieu-dit-Buehl Riesling Schieferkopf by Chapoutier,  Alsace, 2012 

Grape: 100% Riesling hand harvested and aged for 15 months in big casks (foudres)

Producer Tasting Note:

A  golden yellow colour with green tints, limpid and brilliant. The nose exhibits exotic fruit aromas such as pineapple and mango which are conferred by the solar characteristic of this south-facing slope. We also notice very mineral notes of blossoms. The attack on the palate is powerful with ripe fruit aromas. The schisty characteristic of this soil is exhibited with a great acidity and iodized notes on the finale. 

Critic's Tasting Note:

"Lowest site so the top soils are washed down. Big and bold with some sweetness in the background. Very concentrated. Some bitterness and impressive breadth. Muscular." 

17.5/20 points, JR, www.jancisrobinson.com

Estate: Just a short distance from one of the Compostelle routes, in the village of Bernardvillé, this plot is planted in a unique sub-soil on the only strip of blue schist in Alsace which dates back to the Precambrian (over 542 million years ago). Its soils are deeper than that of the neighbouring Fels plot (over 30cm) and give the wines from the Buehl vineyard their powerful structure. A southern exposure and a steeply sloping hillside (up to 40%) result in a remarkably round and concentrated wine. 

Vinification starts with a long pressing, then a static cold settling is carried out. Fermentation takes place thanks to native yeasts. Malolactic fermentation is complete. The wines from Domaine de Schieferkopf undergo full malolactic fermentation and are characterized by their late ripening terroir which enhances the complexity and round structure of aged our wines. The malolactic fermentation brings out the minerality from the blue schist terroir.