Draft:Schlossberg (grand cru)

The Schlossberg vineyard

Alsace Grand Cru Schlossberg or more simply Schlossberg, is a French white wine produced in the place called Schlossberg, located in the commune of Kaysersberg (formerly Kientzheim), in the Haut-Rhin department, in Alsace.

It is one of the fifty-one grands crus of the Alsace vineyard, each one consisting of its own appellation but sharing the same Alsace Grand Cru specifications (with more stringent constraints than for the Alsace appellation in general). Its granite soil is mainly planted with Riesling.

History

In 1928, the local winegrowers agreed in writing on yield limits.

The Alsace Grand Cru appellation was created by the decree of November 20, 1975, but at the time only Schlossberg benefited from the designation. This vintage was first joined by twenty-four other vintages in 1983, then twenty-five others in 1992 and the total number reached fifty-one in 2007.

There have been some changes since then: the decree of March 1, 1984 regulates the use of the terms vendanges tardives and sélection de grains nobles within the appellation and the decree of January 24, 2001 reduced yields and allowed local winegrowers to engage in consultation and modify the specifications of each denomination

In October 2011, all the grands crus of Alsace went from the status of geographical denominations within the same appellation to that of individual appellations sharing the same Grand Cru specification.

Etymology

The toponym Schlossberg means "castle hill" in German, in reference to the Château de Kaysersberg.

Geographical location

Schlossberg is produced in France, in the Alsace region, more precisely in the Haut-Rhin department, in the commune of Kaysersberg (in the former commune of Kientzheim before 2016), 10 kilometers northwest of Colmar.

On the Alsace wine route, Schlossberg is located between Furstentum to the east (this cru adjoins Schlossberg and is partly located in Kientzheim) and Kaefferkopf to the south.

Geology

The vines grow on soils composed of granitic sand: these sandy-silty soils are a little acidic. The lower part of the hillside is covered with thick alluvium. The base is composed of heterogeneous prophyroblastic granite (i.e. comprising enclaves of biotite, colorless amphibole and calcic pyroxene) called Kaysersberg migmatitic granite.

Vignoble

Most of the vineyard plots are on hillsides, between 230 and 350 metres above sea level, on steep slopes facing south and south-east. The slope of the hill overlooks Kaysersberg, Kientzheim and the Weiss valley. The vines climb from the Kientzheim conurbation to Kaysersberg Castle and the Kientzheim forest, partly planted on terraces held back by retaining walls.

A few plots included in the appellation area are located on a slope facing east, on the Kirrenburg, north of the Streibach valley. The total planted area is 80.28 hectares.

Labelling

Throughout the Alsace vineyards, wines are most often identified by their grape variety(ies): Riesling, Gewurztraminer, etc. This mention dominates the label even if it is optional.

When the Alsace Grand Cru appellation was created, the aim was clearly to promote the terroir. The mention of the grape variety is not obligatory and it is possible to put the name of the denomination in larger characters than that of the grape variety. Therefore several mentions on the bottle label are possible, either simply the name of the appellation and the geographical name (Alsace Grand Cru Schlossberg), or with in addition a mention of the grape variety (Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer or Muscat), to which can be added the mention Sélection de Grains Nobles or Vendanges Tardives, as well as the name of a place name within the denomination:

• Alsace Grand Cru Schlossberg;
• alsace grand cru Schlossberg riesling ;
• alsace grand cru Schlossberg gewurztraminer ;
• alsace grand cru Schlossberg pinot gris ;
• alsace grand cru Schlossberg muscat ;
• alsace grand cru Schlossberg late harvest riesling ;
• alsace grand cru Schlossberg late harvest gewurztraminer ;
• alsace grand cru Schlossberg late harvest pinot gris ;
• alsace grand cru Schlossberg late harvest muscat ;
• alsace grand cru Schlossberg selection of noble grains riesling ;
• alsace grand cru Schlossberg selection of noble grains gewurztraminer ;
• alsace grand cru Schlossberg selection of noble grains pinot gris ;
• alsace grand cru Schlossberg selection of noble grains muscat.

Partial List of producers

Domaine Jean-Marc Bernhard

Domaine Paul Blanck

Domaine Bott-Geyl

Domaine Albert Mann

Maison Trimbach

Domaine Weinbach

Domaine Trapet

Domaine Karcher

Domaine Saint Remy