A land of picturesque, fairytale villages, mountains and valleys,  Alsace produces wine of focus and fruit intensity  that also reliably speak of their terroir; of the dirt and rock in which they are grown. The vineyards and wines of the colorful and opinionated Marcel Deiss are at once a classical and controversial part of the Alsatian fabric.

Mostly eschewing what he considers the “newfangled”, commercially driven varietal labeling currently the norm in Alsace, he prefers instead to specialize in field blends, a traditional approach discouraged today which produces wine from vineyards where many varieties are grown together. The resultant wine is never single varietal Riesling for example but like the Engelgarten (Angel’s Garden) is an expression of many vines working together from one contiguous vineyard site. In this case a stretch right alongside the medieval fortifications of Bergheim. 

These mixed plantings, when coupled with biodynamic farming, accentuate the soil’s minerality and we can taste the incredible diversity of this vineyard: tight and minerally at first, but opens into extremely intense orchard peaches and nectarines on the very dry and focused mineral finish.

Alsace is famously a land of food as well, and the wine is built to shine with it – try the Engelgarten with the Wagyu beef tongue, the curried cauliflower soup or the Berkshire pork tenderloin for a classic pairing!