At the foot of the majestic Schlossberg hill, you'll find the Domaine Weinbach surrounded by vines and roses. Named after the " wine brook ", the little stream that meanders through the estate, Domaine Weinbach was established in 1612 by Capuchin monks.
During the French Revolution, the Domaine was sold as a national property. It was acquired in 1898 by the Faller brothers who left it to their son and nephew Théo.
Théo Faller, a prominent figure in Alsace winegrowing, strove to improve the quality of Alsace wines. As a fervent advocate of the region's recognition as an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, he continuously promoted its incomparable terroirs and grape varieties. Théo was devoted to Domaine Weinbach. He developed, expanded and enhanced it.
Since his death in 1979, his wife Colette and daughters, have carried on Théo's passion for the great wines of Alsace and his unrelenting commitment to delivering excellence.
Domaine Weinbach is today run by the perennially welcoming and generous Faller sisters; Catherine and Laurence, with their mother, the indefatigable Madame Colette Faller still in support. They have 27 hectares of vineyards, predominantly Grand Cru. The most famous is the majestic Schlossberg hill, closely followed by the walled Clos de Capuchin; a Weinbach fiefdom that lies around the house and its cellars. But we should not forget the majestic Furstentum Grand Cru which, in the gifted hands of Laurence Faller, produces some of the world’s most profound Gewürztraminer. The Fallers have farmed organically for some time; however, in the late 1990’s they began the conversion towards biodynamics, a move which was complete in time for the 2005 vintage. Although we started our relationship with the 2006 vintage, we are long time followers of the Domaine. Since bio conversion, we’ve noted a rise in minerality and freshness in the wines, alongside a higher clarity and depth of fruit. The wines have more body, tone and shape too. We like to think you can taste the strength and passion of the new Faller generation. Quality is still the key, but the wines are somehow more pristine, with brilliant intensity. They glow with life on the palate, as if they have been lit from the back.
In terms of the style, as the quotes above indicate, the Weinbach/Faller wines offer a remarkable confluence of intensity and clarity, of power and finesse (as contradictory as that sounds). There is also clarity and homogeneity when it comes to the levels of dryness (a rarity in Alsace these days). Basically all of the Rieslings are dry unless they are late harvest (i.e; unless they are marked “Vendage tardive”, “Selection de grains noble”, or “l’Inedit”, the latter being a specific late harvest bottling). The Gewürztraminer’s will all have residual sugar but this will be balanced by the phenolics and natural acidity of the grap
