Riesling Grand Cru, Altenberg de Bergheim
⏳ Drinking Window
2025 - 2040
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted goose, lobster thermidor, mature Munster cheese
✨ Technical Specifications
Hailing from the prestigious Altenberg de Bergheim Grand Cru, this Riesling showcases a masterclass in Alsatian terroir under the stewardship of Schieferkopf. While Schieferkopf is famous for its blue slate soils in Reichsfeld, this Grand Cru cuvée explores the rich, marly-limestone and fossil-rich sandstone soils of Bergheim. This historic vineyard has been celebrated since the 12th century, once highly prized by local monasteries and the Knights Templar for producing wines of extraordinary longevity and power. The wine is crafted using organic and biodynamic principles, fermented with indigenous yeasts, and aged on its fine lees to preserve its intense aromatic purity. It offers a striking contrast of rich, ripe stone fruit, petrol complexity, and a laser-like, saline minerality that defines the grandest of Alsace whites.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 2006 by Rhône vigneron Michel Chapoutier alongside a circle of wine-loving friends, Domaine de Schieferkopf represents a focused inquiry into the mineral-rich terroirs of the Rhine basin. The estate's core Alsatian plots encompass eight hectares perched at approximately 350 to 380 meters elevation around the communes of Bernardvillé and Reichsfeld. This terroir is celebrated for hosting Alsace’s only vein of Precambrian blue schist, set on steep, south-to-southeast-facing slopes. Viticulture is certified organic, while winemaking in the cellar emphasizes purity and restraint. Following gentle pneumatic pressing and settling, fermentations proceed via indigenous ambient yeasts before aging predominantly in traditional neutral oak foudres. Notably allowing complete malolactic fermentation, Schieferkopf softens taut natural acidity while teasing out extraordinary mineral depth, tension, and maritime salinity. Benchmark bottlings include single-vineyard expressions such as Riesling Lieu-dit Fels, Lieu-dit Berg, Lieu-dit Buehl, and Riesling Via Saint-Jacques.
🍇 Grape Varieties
Riesling
🍷 Alcohol By Volume (ABV)
12.5-13.5%