The terroir
Balance is the hallmark of this great terroir, which is highly favourable to Riesling due to its late ripening nature and marl-limestone composition. The site’s very temperate microclimate favours slow ripening, producing wines of great longevity.
Located in the commune of Hunawihr, the Grand Cru Rosacker forms a quadrilateral running along the north side of the village and rising to the entrance to the closed valley at the top of the village. Situated at an altitude of between 260 and 330 metres, the hillside faces east and south-east, overlooking the Alsace plain.
While the slope is gentle in the lower and middle parts, it is steeper in the upper parts, without requiring terraced cultivation.
Rosacker is not an ‘extreme’ terroir. On the contrary, thanks to the depth of the soil, its easterly exposure, its late ripening and dryness, and its low exposure to the wind, it offers the vine regular ripening conditions. As a result, all Alsatian grape varieties thrive on Rosacker, whatever the vintage. However, the terroir’s resistance to summer drought and its late ripening character are particularly beneficial to Riesling, which gains strength here while retaining its purity.
This terroir has one of the strongest personalities in the vineyard.
« It’s a lieu-dit that gives the wine great structure, through its tension and fleshiness.
The finish of this Grand Cru is subtle and precise, giving the wines character and an almost interminable length!
The Riesling reveals noble, planty notes such as laurel, honeysuckle and acacia flower. The Pinot Gris evolves on fresh white fruits, while the Gewurztraminer reveals perfumed and captivating notes of spring flowers.»
History
The Rosacker Grand Cru is inseparable from the history of the village of Hunawihr, whose famous fortified church has become one of the symbols of Alsace’s vineyards.
Rosacker wines were first mentioned in 1483. At that time, the Dukes of Württemberg administered the region and ensured the quality of the fine wines that were highly prized by the dignitaries of the Holy Roman Empire. The Rosacker, in the line of sight of the three castles of the Sires de Ribeaupierre that dominated the heights of Ribeauvillé, increased the greed of the nobles and bourgeois for the commune’s vineyards.
Hunawihr, like many communes in the Vosges foothills, bears witness to its winegrowing origins in its birth certificate. It was through a donation of vines by Lord Huno to the convent of Saint-Dié that its name appears in history in the 7th century. Situated between Ribeauvillé and Riquewihr, it has contributed over the years to the prosperity of Alsatian winegrowing, adding the mark of its terroirs and the poetry of its legends. One of them tells how, one autumn day, as the winegrowers were returning to the village after a sad harvest in a vineyard made desolate by the hostility of the weather, the Lady Hune, wife of Lord Huno, miraculously caused the best wine of all the vintages known in the region to gush forth from the fountain where she was washing the clothes of the humblest people.
The lady benefactor joined the pantheon of saints after her death, while the hillsides of the commune took over from the miraculous fountain.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the vineyards of Hunawihr supplied the cellars of the Dominicans of Basel and Freiburg im Breisgau, and later those of the Lords of Horbourg and their successors, the Counts of Württemberg.
In the 14th century, according to local chronicles, while some villages paid their dues by delivering capons, red wine or deniers to their lords, Hunawihr delivered only white wine.
The wines
Marked by a strong personality, Rosacker wines are pure and complex. They linger on the palate with finesse and length.
Rosacker wines are pure and complex, with no bitterness or toasty notes. The Riesling wines are dry, powerful and concentrated. Their aromas are ripe, but not overripe. On the palate, they are generally very salty, which reinforces the wine’s tension. Gewurztraminer wines, on the other hand, are rich and sweet, but rarely syrupy. They combine the natural richness of the grape variety with the freshness developed by the terroir. For example, the Gewurztraminers from Rosacker are never heavy. Pinot Gris can be dry or sweet, but here again, acidity and salinity ensure balance.
Vintages
Rosacker is a wine for laying down.
Riesling wines develop fine mineral notes with age – but they never ‘petrolise’. Their palate gains in volume and harmony. Gewurztraminer wines retain their liveliness and develop their potential aromatic complexity. The Pinot Gris wines gain volume without losing their initial freshness.
« Young wines have a certain austerity and a tight feel. But after four years, the palate becomes fuller, and the wines from this Grand Cru develop their full aromatic and mineral potential.
Early vintages: when fully matured, the structure of the palate gives a spherical sensation. Vegetal and noble notes are combined with dried flowers and beeswax. A typical ‘gunflint’ salinity emerges.
In late vintages, the wine is very straightforward on the palate, with a more invigorating texture. »
Pairings
« Notes of aromatic herbs are a wonderful taste detonator. Fish, scallops and marinated meats, either tartar or en papillote, generally associated with herbs, combine with the strong aromatic presence of the wines from this Grand Cru. Dishes with flowers are also well worth a try. Gewurztraminer, with its floral notes, goes well with red fruit desserts. »
Photo © ZVARDON / Textes CIVA – www.Vinsalsace.com
