Alsace grand cru Altenberg de Bergbieten

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The vineyard is set in a very open landscape at the heart of a wide amphitheatre, relatively far from the crystalline Vosges, and benefits from a warm, dry mesoclimate that ensures early ripening of the grapes.
• The presence of dolomitic pebbles promotes drainage and warming of the gypsiferous clay-marl soil.
• The Vosges massif shelters the vineyard from the cool, moist north-westerly winds, allowing ideal placement on the well-exposed, steeply sloping east- to south-west-facing hillsides of the sub-Vosges foothills.
• The appellation is characterised by soils belonging to a single geo-pedological unit, associated with one of the most favourable mesoclimates.
• The soil is marly, with a dominance of clay, formed over a subsoil of Upper Triassic age known to German geologists as the Keuper. (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)

• The appellation Alsace grand cru Altenberg de Bergbieten was recognised in 1983, on plots delimited with precision according to the historical production cores.
• Only six white grape varieties are permitted: Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot gris, Muscat à petits grains blancs, Muscat à petits grains roses, and Muscat ottonel, each of which may be vinified under its own varietal designation.
• The vineyard is trained on a high trellis system in order to achieve an optimal leaf canopy, with a minimum planting density of 4,500 vines per hectare and manual harvesting of the grapes.
• Wines bearing the designations Vendanges Tardives and Sélection de Grains Nobles are produced from overripe and delicate grapes harvested by hand, with a minimum ageing period of 18 months.

• These are age-worthy white wines characterised by a pronounced freshness underpinned by a dominant tartaric acidity linked to full grape ripeness.
• The wines of the Altenberg display aromas of ripe fruit in their youth, which evolve towards fine and subtle floral aromas as they age.
• Wines bearing the designations Vendanges Tardives or Sélection de Grains Nobles are sweet wines of exceptional longevity, remarkable concentration, and great aromatic persistence.

• The full structure of the wines, their firm acidity, and their aromatic persistence are linked to the marly dominance of the vineyard site.
• The tannic structure and characteristic sapidity of the wines are induced by the presence of gypsum, which constitutes the defining originality of this appellation.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in France

Sources

• Product specification (BO Agri, PDF), JORF 29 juin 2016,
• Official INAO text (show_texte)
• INAO product entry
• Official trade body site — CIVA