Domaine Marcel Deiss - Alsace Grand Cru Altenberg de Bergheim 2004

Bettane & Desseauve

About the wine:

The first Grand Cru planted on the estate, Altenberg is powerful, unctuous and very deep, with an almost perfect expression of the terroir's minerality. A wine for laying down.

About the domain :

Although Jean-Michel Deiss spends a lot of time in his vineyards, it's his son Mathieu who is in charge of vinification. An engaging winemaker, his sensitivity is evident in the evolution of his wines, particularly the Pinot Noirs, which become more delicate and refined with each vintage. In the whites, trials of maceration give thickness and depth to the textures on the palate. As a winegrower-entrepreneur, Mathieu has expanded his vineyard from 27 to 45 hectares, including his Vignoble du Rêveur project with his partner Emmanuelle Milan. Since 2020, two hectares have been devoted to the production of vine plants, and the estate has acquired its own planting machine, reinforcing its autonomy and mastery of all aspects of the winemaking profession.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the wine:

From a Grand Cru site traditionally excellent for Gewurztraminer, which Deiss has densely planted with the full range of Alsatian grape varieties, his 2004 Altenberg de Bergheim glows with honey, lily, baking spices, orange liqueur and citrus zest. On the palate, the wine has an underlying density that evokes minerality, which no doubt goes a long way to explaining why a residual sugar level in the triple digits results in a wine that is certainly sweet, but not too sweet. Candied citrus, orange liqueur and marmalade, peach jam, walnut paste, honey and vanilla, along with rich pastry and buttery texture give this wine a pastry character - if you just imagine chalk powders instead of flour. It finishes with remarkable lift and elegance for such a rich wine.

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the domain :

Mathieu Deiss succeeds his father Jean-Michel at the head of this venerable Bergheim estate. Complantation is still the guiding principle, even for the grands crus. Although the process is ancestral in the region, it remains little used and divides winegrowers sharply. The Deisses take this approach one step further, delivering convincing, complex wines with marvellous intensity of flavour and incredible balance. Mathieu has also created the Vignoble du Rêveur from his mother's vineyards in Bennwihr (where he produces some top-flight orange wines). The wines are out of the ordinary for the region, which is a little disconcerting for the consumer, but the result is magnificent. A few years of hindsight allow us to analyze the precision of terroir definitions and the ability of these wines to manage their own balance. To be discovered at the estate: the unique experience of geo-sensory tasting, which enables you to understand the relationship between the characteristics of the wine and the terroir in which it was born.

Vinous

James Suckling