Biodynamic. The Théo Riesling comes exclusively from the monopole Le Clos des Capucins—a vineyard that takes its name from the Capuchin friars who arrived in the area in 1619—at the base of the celebrated Schlossberg hill. The Clos is well protected from winds by the surrounding hills and walls. The soils are sand, alluvial pebbles and granitic gravel. The low-cropping vines typically offer up a supple and pithy Riesling that is wonderfully accessible when young—a reflection of these sandy soils. As with all Weinbach dry Rieslings, this was pressed as whole bunches, fermented without any yeast additions, and matured in very old oak casks for, in this case, 10 months. It’s a thoroughbred Cuvée Theo: long, taut and intense. 

Biodynamic. Primarily responsible for the Weinbach we know today, Catherine Faller’s mother, Colette Faller, was one of the legends of Alsatian wine. Sadly, Madame Faller passed away in early 2015 and, like her daughter Laurence and husband Théo before her, is now immortalised by a wine bearing her name. This cuvée comes from 50- to 60-year-old vines in the Bonnes Terres terroir, lower down on the Schlossberg slope, where the soils are deeper and sandier. The fruit here tends to be picked a touch later. Accordingly, the register of flavours is more intense, running from white flowers to mirabelle plum and citrus zest. The wine’s power is balanced by great freshness and verve. 

Biodynamic. The Schlossberg hill has long been revered as one of the world’s most outstanding Riesling vineyards. It’s a granitic outcrop that rises north of Kaysersberg and Kientzheim to an altitude of 230 to 350 metres. The quality of Schlossberg’s wines was established as early as the 15th century, and this was the first vineyard in Alsace to receive Grand Cru status in 1975. With their eight hectares, the Faller family are the largest landowners in Schlossberg. They make an extraordinary series of Rieslings from the hill, parcellated and bottled according to vine age and altitude.

This wine is from three of the family’s highest parcels of vines at the top of the slope (between 320 and 420 metres). The soils are shallow and rocky—very mineral—with eroded granite with a reddish tinge and a high magnesium content. This potent combination of altitude, low-vigour soils and paltry yields results in a deep, dry, mineral Riesling with intense freshness to balance the wine’s flesh. Twenty years will not weary it.

Biodynamic. This cuvée is not only a memorable expression of Riesling, but it is also one of the great white wines of France. The fruit comes from five plots of 60-plus-year-old vines at the heart of the Schlossberg slope, where the sun exposure and granitic, mineral-rich soils beget a particularly deep, layered and profound dry Riesling. 

The wine takes its name from the day of Sainte Catherine, which falls on 25th November. Early vintages were picked on or around that date, drawing their opulence and complexity from Alsace’s late autumn. Today, it can be picked as much as one month earlier. However, it remains the most extraordinary dry Riesling of this Domaine. The winemaking is identical to that of Schlossberg, but the terroir manifests with more intensity, focused concentration and mineral resonance. The wine was raised for 14 months in Weinbach’s old oval casks. 

Three magnums only. Biodynamic. The 2019 purchase of six hectares once belonging to Domaine Gérard Fuchs added more Grand Cru land to Weinbach’s bow. Amongst these vines, the Faller family took control of a tiny parcel of Riesling in the Grand Cru Mambourg. A rare parcel of Riesling in a Gewürztraminer-dominated Cru, the plot is surrounded by trees in the southeastern tip of the Grand Cru Mambourg. The vineyard’s rocky soils sit on top of a calcareous bedrock. Eddy Faller notes that the wines resulting from his old, low-yielding vines combine powerful aromatic expression with generous structure: he recommends at least a few years of further cellaring. Bottled in magnum, it’s a stellar, coiled masterpiece from the  Weinbach cellar. Lovers of the Domaine’s Rieslings should move with haste. 

Weinbach’s Sylvaner comes from old vines in the Clos des Capucins. Sylvaner may have fallen down the Alsatian pecking order in recent decades, but you could hardly tell that from tasting Weinbach’s example. Old, biodynamically tended vines and low yields are just two key components to the quality and style. The fruit was pressed gently as whole clusters, then fermented with indigenous yeasts (an element of the terroir that enhances depth and complexity in the wines) in old oak vats. Sylvaner boasts relatively high acidity, which works a treat with the early-ripening, sandy and rocky terroir of Capucins. The result is a restrained, taut, salivating white with complex, savoury aromatics and juicy concentration.

Biodynamic. Dry. In Alsace, the term Pinot Blanc is used to describe varietal wines or blends containing any percentage of Auxerrois. Weinbach’s Pinot Blanc is a blend of 70% Auxerrois and 30% Pinot Blanc. For fellow nerds, recent DNA studies indicate Auxerrois is a cross between Gouais Blanc and Pinot Noir. Weinbach’s blend comes from Clos des Capucins (with 45-year-old vines) and a plot from the limestone/clay soils at the foot of the Altenbourg vineyard. As with the dry Rieslings, the Pinot Blanc was pressed as whole bunches and raised over eight months in large-format wood (previous vintages were raised in tank).

It's a far more layered and complex wine than you might expect from these varieties. It’s fleshy and mouth-filling with orchard fruits, white blossom and chamomile flavours and a textural core threaded through with punchy freshness.

Biodynamic. This stunning, off-dry Gewürztraminer comes from a parcel of 40- to 50-year-old vines located in the Wolfreben lieu-dit in the Kaysersberg valley between Clos des Capucins and the village of Kaysersberg. The soils are sandy silt over granite pebbles. Gewürztraminer in this terroir ripens early, producing wines with complex aromatics and powerful concentration. It was bottled with 12.5 g/L residual sugar, and although we would love to try this with the savoury/smoky tarte flambée, spicy Asian dishes should be the go-to.