Pinot Gris
⏳ Drinking Window
2010 - 2018
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
roasted duck, creamy mushroom risotto, blue cheese
✨ Technical Specifications
Domaine Rolly Gassmann's Pinot Gris is a masterclass in the rich, off-dry, and deeply textural style that defines this legendary Alsace estate. Sourced from the complex, multi-layered limestone and clay soils of Rorschwihr, this wine benefits from the region's unique microclimate and geological diversity. The Gassmann family practices a patient philosophy, harvesting late to capture botrytis-influenced complexity and generous residual sugar, balanced by a spine of vibrant acidity. Historically, Pinot Gris in Alsace was known as 'Tokay d'Alsace,' a name tied to the legend of Baron Lazare de Schwendi, who supposedly brought vines back from Hungary in the 16th century. While modern regulations have retired the historical moniker, the wine's noble, smoky, and honeyed character remains as legendary as ever, showing incredible depth, stone fruit richness, and a signature mineral finish.
🍾 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
Pinot Gris