We aim to have all wines be vintage specific. In the case the listed vintage is out of stock and you note you would like that particular vintage, we will inform you via email for approval to go ahead.
About This Wine
The Kientzler family has been growing vines for more than 5 generations in Ribeauvillé and the surrounding area. As early as 1866, Dominique Alphonse Kientzler had inherited vines from his father and grandfather and in 1895 was involved in the creation of France’s first winemaking cooperative in Ribeauvillé, in addition to running the local grocery shop. His son Alphonse carried on the grocery business while also tending to the vines; he eventually became the Mayor of Ribeauvillé either side of World War II.
It was Alphonse’s son François though, who was the first to fully concentrate on wine production, taking himself off to Switzerland to study viticulture. By the 1970s, he was joined by his son André in the wine business and the pair undertook a massive replanting program to replace much of the old Chasselas with the noble Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer varieties.
Today, the Kientzlers farm almost 14ha of vines in Ribeauvillé, Bergheim, Hunawihr and Riquewihr, including significant parcels in the Grand Crus of Geisberg, Osterberg and Kirchberg. And in turn André handed over the reins to his sons in 2009; Thierry looks after the winemaking and Eric the commercial side of the business.
| Type | White Wine |
|---|---|
| Varietal(s) | Gewurztraminer |
| Country | France |
| Region | Alsace |
| Appellation | Alsace Grand Cru |
| Brand | Andre Kientzler |
| Vintage | 2021 |
Alsatian wine
Alsace is a unique wine region in North Eastern France, bordering Germany and having also been under German control for much of its existence. Due to this influence, unlike other French regions, wines from Alsace are mostly single varietal bottlings and are also labelled with the variety. They also are legally required to use a tall slimmer bottle called flûtes d'Alsace, that is also commonly seen with German wines.
Almost all the wine produced in the region is white (90%) except for Pinot Noir which is used mainly for sparkling wine. Alsace is most known for its Riesling, which is dry, fresh and floral in its youth but develops complex mineral and flint character with age. Following behind is Gewurztraminer with signature spice and beautiful lychee aromatics. The smell of this wine is intoxicating, it is used to make dry but also late harvest dessert wines. Pinot Gris is also a prized variety of the region with its combination of crisp acidity and savory spice as well as ripe stone fruit flavours.
In Autumn humidity builds up to facilitate the development of “noble rot” to produce late-picked sweet wines. In Alsace there are two classifications for late harvest wines: Vendange Tardive (VT) and Sélection de Grains Nobles (SGN). VT for regular late harvest wines and SGN meaning grapes affected by noble rot.
Other varieties grown here include Pinot Blanc, Muscat, Auxerrois, Chasselas and Sylvaner.
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