JP Rietsch "Quand le Chat n'est Pas" Alsace, France 2022

FROM WINES UNDER THE BONNET

THE WINE: Pinot Gris from Stierkopf vineyard. 1/3 direct press juice & 2/3 whole cluster bunches, 3 weeks maceration

THE PRODUCER: The Rietsch estate has been in the family for seven generations; the land was previously used for tobacco and crops. It was Jean-Pierre’s parents who started cultivating vines in 1970s and handed them on to JP in 1987. The domaine is still very much driven by a family-led culture. Vines are raised naturally, with terroir at the heart of the operation and no use of chemicals. Sulphur is very rarely used in the cellar, only when absolutely necessary.

Wines are made with a low-pressure pneumatic press for a gentle extraction, with a slow fermentations and always indigenous yeasts. Having grown weary of teasing late-harvest, off-dry wines from his more aromatic grape varieties, Jean-Pierre was one of the first growers in the Alsace to experiment with macerating them.