Schoenheitz Edelzwicker NV (1L)

 

Schoenheitz Edelzwicker Alsace France NV

 

This wine comes from a rigorous selection process and is vinified in a way that privileges the expression of the varietal.  The specific aromas and balance will compliment your casual meals.

 

This wine is one of our “classique” wines.  Edelzwicker means "Noble Blend".   Indeed, this wine is a mix of the best Alsace grapes varieties.

 

Location:  On the lower slope of the hillside with southern exposure

Soil:  Very decomposed granite rich in micas

Age of the vines:  3 to 25 years old

Grape Varieties:
15 % Chasselas
35% Sylvaner
15 % Auxerrois
20 % Riesling
5% Muscat
5% Pinot Gris
5% Gewurztraminer
(These proportions can change every year)

 

Average production per year:  6 600 bottles of 1 000 ml

Main analytic characteristics:
•  alcohol = 12%
•  residual sugar = 3.8 g/l
•  tartaric acidity = 4 g/l 
•  pH = 3.54

 

Tasting Notes:
• A bright pale yellow with light gold reflections
• An intense bouquet which evokes white and yellow flowers as well as fresh fruits.
• A firm and pleasant entry followed by a good presence on the palate thanks to its body and its nice acidity.

 

Associations:  Its pleasant aromas and its balance will perfectly complement your casual meals.

 

Ageing:  3 to 5 years

 

 

Schoenheitz

Vin D’Alsace

Appellation D’Origine Controlee

 

Schoenheitz... a name whose Alsatian meaning is related to “beauty” and “a taste for good things”

 

When history and nature join forces the only path to follow is that of EXCELLENCE.

In Wihr-au-Val, where the Alsatian hills meet with the Vosges mountains, and where the extreme climate suits the vines, Dominique and Henri Schoenheitz have been cultivating and pursuing excellence for more than 20 years.

 

The trail they have blazed is uncompromising.  It is a daily pursuit of quality, a passionate investment to produce wines of defined personality and unique character year after year.

Wines that range from fruity and elegant to langurous and silky to accompany your every mood.

Wines that manage to be both consistent and changeable, faithful and surprising, familiar and exotic....

 

The renaissance of a vineyard

 

The Schoenheitz vineyards (14 hectares) are entirely concentrated on the steep slopes of the magnificent Munster Valley.

 

Appellations:  AOC Alsace et AOC Cremant of Alsace

Terroir:

• Very steep slopes
• Exposure to the sun: South and South-East
• Granite with two micas

 

Surface:  14,5 ha (36 acres) of which 0,5 ha (1,25 acres) are young vines

 

The planted grape varieties:

• Riesling = 31 %
• Gewurztraminer = 21 %
• Pinot Gris = 14 %
• Pinot Noir = 15 %
• Pinot Blanc = 14 % (of which 45% is dedicated to our cremant)
• Muscat = 4 %
• Sylvaner and mixed parcels = 1%

Method of Cultivation:

• Traditional training of the vines (density 4,000-6,000 stocks per hectare).
•  Guyot single cane pruning for most varieties to limit the yield.
• Natural grass between the rows alternating with plantings of rye in the winter to counter erosion and improve soil structure.
•  Fertilization = no chemical fertilizers are used, both to limit the yield and to incite the vines to seek nourishment deeper in the soil which favours the expression of the “terroir” in the wine.
• All treatments are limited to those strictly necessary and are applied within a sustainable agriculture concept.

Harvesting Method:

• Manual, with a strict selection on the vine.
• Harvesting at optimal maturity during 5 to 8 weeks.
• Clusters preserved intact (no settlement or damage).

 

History as a passion, and a Passion for History

 

All the fairies watched over the valley...

During the Middle Ages the vineyards of Wihr-au-Val belonged to the famous Habsbourg and Ribeaupierre families and already had a reputation for producing quality wines.  Nestled in the heart of the Munster valley, the location fulfilled all the conditions for a brilliant future in the Alsatian soil.  Unfortunately, the vicissitudes of history destroyed that future, leaving nothing but devastation at the end of World War II.

Embrace history and prepare the soil...

During the 1970's, Henri Schoenheitz senior, passionate about history and in love with the area where he was born, undertook the rebirth of this lovely vineyard which had been nearly wiped out.  Slowly, as at the time the area was under mixed agricultural usage, he retraced the original contours of the vineyards at Wihr-au-Val whose legitimacy had been all but forgotten.  Preparing the soil and replanting the steep hillsides was a difficult undertaking and is still pursued by Henri junior, assisted by his wife Dominique.

The connaisseur's palate is the sole judge of "quality"

In 1980 Dominique and the younger Henri Schoenheitz, both fresh graduates in oenology and viticulture, launched themselves into their first harvests.  The wines of Schoenheitz were yet to be created.  For them it was like the pleasure of a blank page, waiting to be written on.  These young vintners, the only independent wine makers in the village, quickly began defining their style: sustainable agriculture as a method to create epicurean wines.

From the pursuit of history to the writing of a success story...

In 1995 they received a satisfying reward: the prize “vingt sur vins” recognizing 15 years of passion and determination.  Both professional experts and private connoisseurs are choosing Alsace wines more and more, and their loyalty to Schoenheitz wines is a salute to their quality.

 

Our Know-how

 

Tell me your roots and I'll tell you who you are:

Great wines are born under extreme or difficult conditions.  The Schoenheitz vineyards (14 hectares) are entirely concentrated on the steep slopes of the magnificent Munster Valley.  The slopes are sometimes so steep that no tractor can work them.  Only man can reach them.  All the vineyards benefit from an exceptional full southern exposure.  The granitic soil favors the development of wines full of character, well-structured, and with rare finesse.  The flanks of the Vosges create a micro-climate of optimal conditions favorable to a nuanced expression of the soil and varietal characteristics.

Respect, patience and rigor:

Constant observation and vigilance resulting in agriculture that is respectful of the environment, patient cultivation and care of each individual vine throughout the year during it's entire life span, and a choice of varietals rigorously adapted to the location even if it means limiting the yield: these are some of the principles followed by the Schoenheitz family to create great Alsace wines.

"Lieux-dits" where the land expresses itself:

While all of the Schoenheitz vineyards receive excellent care, the oldest plots, deeply rooted, are worked with even more respect and rigor to incite the vines to seek out the expression of the land in the heart of the granite.  These are the “lieux-dits” or “named places” of the House of Schoenheitz.  They are consecrated to the creation of Wihr-au-Val's greatest wines: voluble, generous, opulent, elegant.

 

Our “Lieux-dits”

 

"Holder"  Is located in Wihr-au-Val, where the Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris wines grow particularly well.  The soil, composed of granite and clay, offers them their opulence, complexity and extreme exquisiteness.

 

“Herrenreben”  In the 15th century, the noblemen of Ribeaupierre were already cultivating Pinot Noir at this site.  This stony and sandy soil brings out powerful, concentrated and elegant Pinot Noir wines.  Our most mature vines also grow here, producing a particularly racy Riesling.

 

"Val Saint-Grégoire"  Only the Pinot Blanc and the Pinot Gris benefit from this appellation common to all winegrowing villages of the Munster valley, which was historically named the “Val Saint-Grégoire”.

 

"Linsenberg"  Is located in Wihr-au-Val where the stony ground rapidly warms up in springtime.  Although generally dedicated to the cultivation of Riesling, the clay section also brings forth Gewurztraminer wines of strong character.

 

The art of humble vinification

 

The grapes and nothing but the grapes:

“Gentleness in all things” is the paramount rule followed by the Schoenheitz since their first harvest when the long-awaited moment arrived to transform the raw material into a promising caress for the final consumer's palate.

Technical installations:

• Harvest reception area and press are located higher than the winery to benefit from gravity flow techniques.
• Pneumatic press which permits the pressing of whole clusters (without prior de-stemming).
• Temperature controlled stainless steel tanks for a total capacity of 1,000 hl (average volume of tank : 35 hl).
• Barrels from Burgundy made of French oak (Allier and Vosges), renewed by one quarter each year for the aging of our famous Pinot Noir “Herrenreben”.
• Air-conditioned premises with a storage capacity of 200,000 bottles.

Custom-tailored pressure:

Each parcel and varietal is individually pressed.  After passing a last phase of sorting, the entire bunch is deposited on the press.  The whole installation has been specially conceived to avoid shocks and stress to the grapes during transport.  It is due to this respect for the fruit that the varietal and the soil can fully express themselves in “high fidelity” in the glass.

A "controlled" vinification, between nuance and subtlety...

Strict rules of hygiene, perfect temperature control of the fermentation, and constant and precise follow-up permit an accurate translation of the wine's natural expression.  The defining characteristics of the Schoenheitz style, leaving a lasting impression, are “frankness, clarity and purity.”  The story is written by nature, the nuanced and subtle interpretation is provided by the mastery and oenological experience of Dominique and Henri Schoenheitz.