Julien Schaal - Alsace Schiste Grand Cru Kastelberg 2023

Bettane & Desseauve

About the domain :

In 2011, Julien Schaal set up his own Alsatian structure in parallel with a trading venture in South Africa, a highly original venture since it is based exclusively on the purchase of Grand Cru grapes. There are currently nine grands crus on the menu, covering just about every soil type in the region, and only Riesling is offered, with the exception of a gewurzt from Osterberg and a blend from Altenberg de Bergheim. A blind tasting of his 2017s blew us away. Hats off to him!

Jancis Robinson

James Suckling

Yves Beck

About the wine:

Riesling and schist have a long history of love, agreement, fraternity and unshakeable understanding. It's also a story of character and confrontation. The two have to come to an agreement, and that's not always easy, but ambition for excellence usually clears the hurdles. The bouquet reveals subtle fruity notes with nuances of apricot, vine peach, peppermint and lemongrass. The classic flinty notes are also present, like a foundation, with the aim of ensuring the olfactory rear. On the palate, the wine adopts a progressive, cautious attitude. It can count on the incisive, structuring character of its acidity, but it hardly wants to hurry. Why should it? It's built to last a few decades. Bitterness also plays a key role in this wine's configuration. It takes the back seat in terms of taste, imparting vigor and enhancing aromatic expression, both in terms of intensity and persistence. The wine knows exactly where it wants to go, but it doesn't yet know how! All the necessary elements are there to get there, so it logically opts for patience and time. A great wine in the making. 2030-2060