Alsace grand cru Saering

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The Vosges massif shields the vineyard from cool, humid north-westerly winds, favouring establishment on well-exposed hillside slopes.
• The vines are planted on steep-sloping hillsides with east-to-south-west aspects, typical of the sub-Vosges foothills.
• The grand cru forms a calcareous hillock covered with conglomerates of sandy Buntsandstein pebbles and granitic rock debris, with a calcareous subsoil that may locally outcrop.
• The soil has a marly-sandy texture abundantly supplied with gravel, consistent with its description as a marly-sandy soil with gravelly inclusions.
• The prevailing westerly winds lose their moisture on the western slopes of the Vosges and arrive in Alsace as the foehn, a dry and warm wind. (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)

• The appellation d'origine contrôlée Alsace grand cru Saering was recognised in 1983, the legal expression of a long-standing practice of communicating wine origin through named vineyard sites.
• Only six white grape varieties are authorised: 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 name.
• The vineyard is trained on a high trellis system to maximise the leaf surface area, with a minimum planting density of 4,500 vines per hectare and mandatory hand-harvesting.
• Wines carrying the Vendanges Tardives and Sélection de Grains Nobles designations, produced from overripe grapes harvested by hand, must undergo a minimum of 18 months of ageing.

• These are age-worthy white wines characterised by a pronounced freshness resting on a dominant tartaric acidity linked to good grape ripeness.
• The dry, mineral wines and the aromatic, fruit-driven, full-bodied, and rich wines both display a sustained depth of colour ranging through to golden yellow.
• Vendanges Tardives wines often show highly exotic and candied-fruit aromas with a fresh finish, while Sélection de Grains Nobles wines are more concentrated and powerful with fruit-paste aromas, both ranging through to amber yellow.

• The gravelly texture and sandstone explain the pronounced salinity of the wines, while the presence of limestone produces more incisive acidity, a guarantee of their longevity.
• The excellent late-season climatic conditions, favourable to concentration on the vine and to the development of noble rot, allow the production of wines from overripe harvested grapes.

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