Domaine Marcel Deiss - Alsace Grand Cru Altenberg de Bergheim 2004

Bettane & Desseauve

About the wine:

The Altenberg, the estate’s first grand cru, is powerful, smooth, and very deep, offering an almost perfect expression of the terroir’s minerality. A wine with exceptional aging potential.

About the estate:

While Jean-Michel Deiss spends a great deal of time in his vineyards, it is his son Mathieu who oversees the winemaking process. An engaging winemaker, his sensibility is evident in the evolution of the wines—particularly the Pinot Noirs, which become more delicate and refined with each vintage. For the whites, experiments with maceration lend body and depth to the textures on the palate. As both a winemaker and an entrepreneur, Mathieu has expanded the vineyard from 27 to 45 hectares, including his “Vignoble du Rêveur” project, which he runs with his partner Emmanuelle Milan. Since 2020, two hectares have been dedicated to the production of grapevines, and the estate has acquired its own planting machine, strengthening its autonomy and mastery of all aspects of winemaking.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the wine:

Hailing from a Grand Cru-classified vineyard—traditionally renowned for Gewürztraminer—which Deiss has densely planted with the full range of Alsatian grape varieties, his 2004 Altenberg de Bergheim glows with notes of honey, lily, baking spices, orange liqueur, and citrus zest. On the palate, the wine displays an underlying density that evokes minerality and likely explains in large part why a residual sugar level nearing three digits results in a wine that is certainly sweet, but not overly so. Candied citrus, orange liqueur, marmalade, peach jam, walnut paste, honey, and vanilla, along with the richness of the dough and the texture of butter, give this wine a pastry-like character—if one simply imagines chalk dust in place of flour. It finishes with remarkable finesse and elegance for a wine of such richness.

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

About the estate:

Mathieu Deiss has succeeded his father, Jean-Michel, as head of this venerable estate in Bergheim. Mixed planting remains the guiding principle, even for the grands crus. Although this method is a time-honored tradition in the region, it is still rarely practiced and remains a major point of contention among winemakers. The Deiss family continues to push the boundaries of this approach, producing compelling, complex wines with marvelous intensity of flavor and incredible balance. Mathieu has also created the Vignoble du Rêveur from his mother’s vineyards in Bennwihr (where he produces, among other things, top-tier orange wines). The wines are exceptional for the region, which can be a bit disorienting for consumers, but the result is magnificent. With a few years of hindsight, one can analyze the precision of the terroir definitions and these wines’ ability to maintain their own balance. Don’t miss the estate’s unique geo-sensory tasting experience, which helps you understand the relationship between a wine’s characteristics and the terroir from which it was born.

Vinous

James Suckling