Edelzwicker
⏳ Drinking Window
2010 - 2015
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
tarte flambée, choucroute garnie, soft cow's milk cheeses
✨ Technical Specifications
In the rolling, sun-drenched hills of Rorschwihr, Domaine Rolly Gassmann crafts an Edelzwicker that elevates the historic Alsatian category. Historically, 'Edelzwicker'—meaning 'noble blend'—was the pride of Alsatian taverns, representing a harmonious marriage of the region's traditional white grape varieties. While many modern examples are light and simple, Rolly Gassmann treats this blend with the utmost respect. Sourced from clay-limestone soils that impart a distinct mineral depth, the grapes are harvested by hand and fermented using indigenous yeasts. True to the estate's signature style, the wine is allowed a slow, patient maturation in the cellar, resulting in a texturally rich, off-dry masterpiece. It weaves together the aromatic lift of Alsace's noble varieties with structural precision, offering a beautifully balanced, historically rooted expression of the region.
🍾 About the Producer
Domaine Rolly Gassmann emerged in 1967 through the marriage of Marie-Thérèse Rolly and Louis Gassmann, unifying two families with winemaking lineages in Alsace dating to 1676 and 1611 respectively. Situated in Rorschwihr along the complex Ribeauvillé fault line, the estate commands over 50 hectares characterized by a mosaic of 21 distinct limestone-dominant subsoil profiles. Opting out of the Alsace Grand Cru hierarchy in favor of expressing traditional historic lieux-dits, current winemaker Pierre Gassmann operates strictly within biodynamic rhythms. The viticultural approach champions late physiological and phenological harvesting, intentionally courting noble rot across micro-parcels. In the cellar, natural fermentations proceed unhurried for four to six months. Celebrated for an obsessive dedication to bottle maturation, Rolly Gassmann stores millions of bottles in a state-of-the-art multi-level cellar before commercial release. The benchmark portfolio spans opulent, long-lived expressions from lieux-dits such as Silberberg, Kappelweg, and Pflaenzerreben, alongside lusciously concentrated Vendanges Tardives and Sélection de Grains Nobles.