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  • Weather

    15° C Light rain
  • Time

    13:44 PM
  • Wine average?

    93 Tb
  • Country Ranking?

    287
  • Region Ranking?

    2
  • Popularity ranking?

    237

News

Laurence Faller is one of the best winemakers in the world. She manages to capture the tiniest detail in her wines and they shine through their style, their precision of fruit, their elegance of texture and their amazing balance – without any faults.” Olivier Poussier, Revue De Vins De France

Laurence Faller vinifies her wines without shortcuts, with a purity and precision such that their quality is evident to all, like all the greatest wines.”  Michel Bettane & Thierry Dessauve
 

'Three Stars': Producteur de vins de qualité exceptionnelle [one of only three in Alsace]. The Greatest Wines of France 2011, Revue De Vins De France

 

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History

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

 

 

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Vineyards

Put simply, Schlossberg is one of the greatest Riesling vineyards in the world; the quality of this very famous vineyard was well known as early as the fifteenth century. For this reason it was the first vineyard in Alsace to receive the status of Grand Cru in 1975. The Weinbach Domaine owns 8 hectares of this terroir. The second of the Fuller’s great terroirs is the monopole Clos de Capucins. Taking its name from the Capuchin friars who arrived here in 1619, the Clos is at the bottom of a slope, well protected from winds by the surrounding hills. Its soils consist of sand, alluvium, granite gravel and pebbles. Finally (as far as this offer is concerned anyway), the steep limestone and clay slope of the Grand Cru Furstenheim, is Valhalla for Gewürz. The wines from site tend to produce a more floral, spicy, savoury style than the obvious, simple, Turkish delight characteristics that dominate so many wines made by this grape variety. These are exhilaratingly fresh, complex and poised wines. 

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Winemaking

In terms of vineyard and winemaking practice, the Fallers work as closely with nature as possible. Only organic compost is used and the high value placed on hand vineyard management means there is no recourse for anti fungal, or insecticides. The fruit is whole cluster pressed into ancient large foudres where it ferments on its indigenous yeasts. The ferments are lengthy, unhurried and the wine is untended until it is ready for bottling without fining.

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Inside information

Domaine Weinbach started using biodynamical methods in 1998 on 8 out of 25 hectares. The other 17 hectares were cultivated organically.

Since the 2005 vintage, all the Domaine's vineyards are taken care of biodynamically. We are in official "conversion" and our production will be granted both the "organic/biologique" Ecocert certification and the "biodynamics/biodynamie" Demeter certification in 2010.

 

Biodynamics is a farming philosophy formalized by the Austrian born philosopher and scientist Rudolf Steiner in the 1920's and developed by Maria Thun.

It takes organic viticulture as a beginning: the soils are worked and no synthetic chemicals are used as fertilizers or pesticides. It goes farther then organics in the sense that it considers a vineyard as a living organism. The soil (the earth is viewed as the mother) is not a simple support for the vine but a living environment and a source of energy as much as its outdoor environment is (the sun is the father).

The primary principle is to upgrade the soil and the vine life in its natural environment and increase the natural defences/resistance of the vine with the use of products made from vegetal (nettle, willow, horsetail, camomile, achillea,…), animal (manure, compost) and mineral (silica) origins.

Secondly, the application of these products and the working of the soils at specific times according to the sun and moon cycles are also key, there lies the "dynamic" part.

The goal is to achieve harmonious life conditions and better exchanges between the soil, the plant (including root and foliage systems) and its environment based on:

  • better soil quality thanks to the presence of a greater quantity and variety of bio organisms (bacteria, fungus, worms,…) otherwise killed by herbicides and the absence of oxygen getting into the soil;

  • deeper, thicker and healthier roots favoured by the work of the soil;

  • better development of leaves and flowers (more efficient photosynthesis).

The better exchanges that take place enable the soil and climate characteristics to be transferred to the grapes, increasing the quality of their flavours and the expression of the terroirs.

For us, biodynamic viticulture means respect of the environment, respect of the terroirs and of the grapes. A viticulture that respects life allows not only the vintage climate and the grape varieties but above all the terroirs to express themselves in the wines.

The benefits of biodynamics were never as obvious as in 2003 (extremely hot and dry vintage). During that year, the vines resisted incredibly well and the wines showed a natural balance and a surprising freshness.

Biodynamics may look esoteric. Yet it is easy to relate to homeopathy for humans. It also involves a great deal of good sense based on traditional peasant practices that were being lost in the new industrial world. It is interesting to note that our grandmother used some of the now fancily called biodynamic methods as well as the "astral" calendar to take care of her garden.

To conclude: The main motivation is to increase soil activity and thus stimulate soil/root/aerial system exchanges with the objective of producing better quality, terroir driven and aromatically complex grapes and wines. Biodynamics helps us care for and protect our vines not only for now but also for future generations.

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11 different wines with 19 vintages

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