Gewurztraminer Kappelweg Rorschwihr
⏳ Drinking Window
2012 - 2022
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Munster cheese, foie gras, spicy Thai curry
✨ Technical Specifications
The 'Kappelweg' of Rorschwihr, whose name translates to the 'chapel path,' is a historic lieu-dit with roots tracing back to medieval times when monastic orders cultivated these very slopes. Domaine Rolly Gassmann coaxes an extraordinarily expressive and opulent Gewurztraminer from this terroir's heavy marly-limestone soils. True to the estate's patient philosophy, the grapes are harvested at peak ripeness, often with a touch of noble rot, and the wine is aged for years in their massive cellars before seeing the light of day. The result is a masterclass in balance: a rich, off-dry nectar bursting with aromas of lychee, rose petals, and exotic spices, underpinned by a surprising vein of mineral acidity that keeps the finish remarkably fresh and elegant.
🍾 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.
🍇 Grapes
Gewurztraminer