Alsace grand cru Altenberg de Wolxheim

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The vineyard is established around a pinnacle of oolitic limestone, forming an amphitheatre oriented due south, sheltered from the prevailing winds and from the northeast.
• The vines grow on marly-calcareous soils of the Lower Jurassic, formerly known as the Lias, and of the Middle Jurassic, also known as the Dogger, rich in gravelly pebbles, at the foot of the Horn rock. (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)
• The Vosges massif provides protection against the cool, moist winds from the northwest, allowing the vineyard to find its ideal conditions on the well-exposed, steeply sloping east- to southwest-facing hillsides of the sub-Vosges foothills.
• The appellation presents soils belonging to a single geo-pedological unit associated with a particularly favourable mesoclimate.
• The warm and dry summer mesoclimate of the amphitheatre is offset by deep marl layers that ensure a regular water supply to the vine.

• The controlled designation of origin 'Alsace grand cru Altenberg de Wolxheim' was recognised in 1992, based on plots delimited according to the historical production cores.
• The grape varieties approved as the basis are exclusively white varieties: Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot gris, Muscat à petits grains blancs, Muscat à petits grains roses, and Muscat ottonel.
• The vineyard is trained using a high trellis system in order to achieve an optimal leaf canopy area, with a minimum planting density of 4,500 vines per hectare and hand-harvesting of the grapes.
• Wines bearing the Vendanges Tardives or Sélection de Grains Nobles designations, produced from over-ripe and fragile grapes harvested by hand, must undergo a minimum ageing period of 18 months.

• The age-worthy white wines are characterised by a pronounced freshness based on a predominantly tartaric acidity, linked to good grape ripeness.
• The mineral dry wines and the aromatic, fruity, full-bodied wines display a sustained colour intensity ranging up to golden yellow, while the Vendanges Tardives and Sélections de Grains Nobles reach amber yellow.
• Wines bearing the Vendanges Tardives or Sélection de Grains Nobles designations are sweet wines of exceptional longevity, remarkable concentration, and great aromatic persistence.

• The mesoclimate of Altenberg de Wolxheim, combined with the gravelly marly-calcareous soil, contributes to the power of the wines and to their acidic structure, integrated with salinity.
• The mesoclimate associated with the gravelly marly-calcareous soil promotes a continuous and intense vine cycle from budburst to harvest.

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