Alsace

From soils of gravel, sand and south-facing clay and limestone. The juice is extracted with infinite care in our air-bag press. The slow, gentle pressing avoids crushing the stalks and pips. This is followed by slow, natural fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless-steel vats, generally lasting from four to 10 weeks.

This wine sits in a range the Blancks call "Les Classiques". These are easy, accessible wines made from the traditional Alsatian grape varieties. They are fruit-driven, aromatic, dry wines that give the best of themselves within the first five to seven years, if you wish to retain their primary fruit-driven personality. The screw cap closure enhances this profile and helps the wines keep both freshness and liveliness far longer. They generally come from light soils with sand and gravel as well as sandstone or clay.

Fruit for the Blanck Pinot Gris was sourced from gravel, sand and south-facing clay and limestone vineyards. It was gently whole-bunch pressed before spontaneous alcoholic fermentation in stainless steel.

Zind Humbrecht is one of the unquestioned kings of aromatic whites. His ceaseless drive to create the world's greatest examples of his varieties is nothing short of remarkable as are the resulting offerings. A devoted proponent of Biodynamics, a gifted presenter and communicator and a towering figure of modern wine, the first Frenchman to be awarded the MW (International Master of Wine) he has justifiably earned his reputation as one of the legends of modern wine.

The Tuckheim Range is the value tier and represents classic Alsatian whites from a regional blend of grapes as well as estate fruit. These vineyards are grown on the valley floor, where the glacial debris of rolled stones, granite and gneiss has settled over the aeons. Wine from these soils tends to have a lovely fruit profile underpinned with a stoney-mineral tension that screams 'drink me' and marks the wines with the typical mineral streak of Alsace.

Preserved lemon flavours are held in check by the limestone minerality and the palate is given volume and texture by the usual lees contact over winter. A lovely mouthful of wine that finishes long and dry and beautifully balanced. Unmistakably fine Alsace Riesling. VINTAGE & VINE

The fruit comes from vineyards with sand and gravel soils around the village of Kientzheim.
The juice is extracted with infinite care in an air-bag press. The slow, gentle pressing avoids crushing the stalks and pips. The must starts fermenting of its own accord thanks to the natural yeast present in the juice, and the fermentation generally lasts from four to 10 weeks. It is carried out in stainless-steel vats equipped with temperature control, a medium which maximises the expression of this variety's aromas.

Uncomplicated but charming, with plenty of fresh pineapple and mandarin orange fruit. Medium bodied with restrained mid-palate richness. An animating freshness at the bone dry finish that pulls you back for more. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink now.  STUART PIGOTT, jamessuckling.com

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SILVER - World Liquor Awards

Exotic, generous and delicate with an intense attack on the palate. A real explosion of flavors!

Mittnacht Freres have been producing biodynamic wines for quite some time and are well known for their refined wines. They own some parcels in the Grand Crus like "Rosaker" or "Osterberg". We are looking forward to introducing more of their range some time soon.

This Appellation 'Cremant D'Alsace" is made using the traditional method with a secondary fermentation in bottle. It's aged for 32 months before disgorging.

Subtle sparkling with notes of pears, apples and peach, on a festival of light and very elegant bubbles. The palate is dry, notes of granny smith apples and hazelnut, built around a nice, ripe acidity. Delicious festive number !

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

This entry-level dry pinot gris has a wonderful flinty freshness and a very appealing lightness of touch on the medium-bodied palate. Very salty and lemony bone-dry finish. Just 12.2% alcohol. From vines of varying ages, the youngest planted in 1992. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink now. STUART PIGOTT, jamessuckling.com

Very fresh and bright with effusive pink grapefruit and lilac aromas from the warm, dry growing season. I love this wine’s zesty personality and the wonderful mineral freshness that gives the long finish a terrific kick. This almost pure muscat a petits grains. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink now. STUART PIGOTT, jamessuckling.com

STAFF PICKS 2024 - RICH

Gewurtztraminer can be often misunderstood with low quality examples from the and 80's and 90's still in the minds and on the palates. This is a great wine to help change that mindset. Floral notes with honeysuckle leap from the glass with a hint of white pepper and the traditional spiciness. Due to an drier than normal vintage the alcohol is lower than usual and coming in at less than 1g residual sugar, there is a mineral freshness not often seen from this varietal. The palate follows the nose but brings in elements of stone fruit and sweet spice. If you haven't had a Gewurtztraminer in a hot minute, this is perfect. RICH

Hard as it may be to believe, this gewurz has stacks of yellow rose and star fruit aromas, but is only medium-bodied and tastes so bright. The interplay of the acidity and the exciting touches of tannin and bitterness drive the long, bone-dry finish. Just 12.6% alcohol. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink now. STUART PIGOTT, jamessuckling.com

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

Complex nose of Amalfi lemon and flint with leesy complexity. Excellent structure on the medium-bodied palate. Very straight with excellent candied citrus complexity and just a hint of oak. A cuvee of two thirds chardonnay and one third auxerrois. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold. STUART PIGOTT, jamessuckling.com

Marcel Deiss Riesling comes from two different vineyards on the estate. One has soil with a filtering limestone surface and the other has sandy soil that is barely fertile and very dry. They practice organic and biodynamic agriculture (Ecocert and Demeter Certificate). The harvest is carried out manually and early to maintain good levels of acidity.

This south / south-easterly facing slope in Wintzenheim is composed of calcareous clay. This heavy soil is giving a strong character to the wines.

Stunning citrus fruit, generous body and excellent concentration with a vibrant acidity makes this a very expressive and appealing dry riesling, that does all the things people expect from Sancerre which it doesn't always deliver. Long invigorating finish STUART PIGOTT, jamessuckling.com

The nose is wonderfully flinty with promising reduction. The palate is dry, rather serene and round. Subtle flavors of sun-ripened Mirabelle skin appear on the mid-palate, then tapers to a long, taut lemon finish. The bone-dry lemon zestiness has a long echo. (Bone-dry) ANNE KREBIEHL MW, Vinous

Vivacious and uber refreshing, this positively hums with a primal energy and delivers it all with an emphatic snap of rocky mineral tension that clings to the medium bodied, pithy, zesty fruit that struts across your mouth like it has somewhere important to be. I love its vim and vigour, at no point is your palate not fully engaged and enlivened. It carries all this character with seeming ease as it slowly unwinds at the back.
The next day there was a distinct florality and a potent lemon oil note that really got me excited. Also the more textural, phenolic, extract components were a little more positively influential. This speaks volumes for the wines ability to age and evolve gracefully in the bottle, but it's a thrill to drink now. Gorgeous. ROSCOE

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

One reason I never miss a chance to visit Jean Dirler and his family is that the Dirler-Cadé estate in Bergholtz makes outstanding wines from several different Alsace varieties. Its Sylvaner, a grape often treated as an afterthought in Alsatian wine-production circles, is especially noteworthy. I do not feel that I am exaggerating when I describe it as a world-class wine the fact that it ages extremely well is an added bonus.

The Rieslings in particular are exceptionnal: impressive saline tension for the Kitterlé, all about vigor and smoky brightness for the finish, straight wine, sharp, profound, with an extraordinary persistence and intensity. The Kessler, offers a myriad of vibrant flavours, the finish is overflowing with energy and anise brightness. Very young, the Searing offers a dazzling breath of light, and the Spiegel displays a radiant fruit and a vibrant, intense persistence- it's a stunning wine. IAN D'AGATA

From a sorting in the Grands Crus Kessler & Saering and in the lieu-dit Belzbrunnen - 2.3 g/l residual sugar

The 2021 Sylvaner Rosenberg is made from old vines, planted in 1969/1970, so just over 50 years old. The nose has a faint hint of melted butter and hazelnut. The small harvest meant that it needed to go into used barrique, because there was not enough to fill a foudre. The result is very creamy and smooth, on a slender body, with much lemon freshness. While svelte, this is generous and gorgeously smooth. (Bone-dry) ANNE KREBIEHL MW, Vinoua

The 2022 Sylvaner Vieilles Vignes opens with russet pear peel, suggesting ripeness and texture, which duly follow the palate, which is slightly crunchy with phenolics. These take the place of more freshness on a smooth, concentrated body with supple edges of pithiness. (Bone-Dry) ANNE KREBIEHL MW, Vinous

Brimming with star fruit, bergamot and flint, this is a dangerously fresh and minerally dry riesling for this warm and dry vintage. Terrific drive right through the bone-dry palate, the slate and Amalfi lemon zest at the finish strident. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold. STUART PIGOTT, jamessuckling.com

Think ripe pomelo and melon with a touch of yellow grapefruit, then let yourself drift into this very fresh and chalky expression of the pinot gris grape. Only medium-bodied, but with a compact structure. Intensely salty finish that has a lot of drive. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold. STUART PIGOTT, jamessuckling.com

A juicy and very fresh gewurz with stacks of star fruit and licorice character. Just a touch of positive bitterness helps lift the medium-bodied palate, which is otherwise really silky. Beautiful balance in spite of the touch of unfermented grape sweetness. Mostly from young vines in the Grand Cru Hengst and the Clos Windsbuhl sites. Picked at the end of the 2022 harvest. Drink or hold.  STUART PIGOTT, jamessuckling.com

A blend of Riesling, Pinot Gris and some Pinot Blanc, the 2021 Riquewihr was harvested along the Schoenenbourg Grand Cru, on the more exposed side of the grand cru Sporen, and from parcels towards Kientzheim. After some funky reduction has dissipated, luminous candied lemon notes appear. The palate, however, is fuller and seems buffered and airy, with very concentrated freshness, soft fruit and defining pithy bitterness that makes the mouth water. The finish is bone-dry and rapier-like, edged with ginger. (Bone-dry) ANNE KREBIEHL MW, Vinous

This wine comes from the parcels of Domaine Marcel Deiss located on the end of Riquewihr (places called Engelsreben and Rosenbourg) conducted biodynamically. The siliceous superficial framework of these soils resting on deep marls, gives a wine extremely salivating, precise, robust, thick, aristocratic and cold in primitive youth, but fleshy. Complete and very long aging. This is the complex message of a vibrant fruit from a deep cold earth.

If you have never had the wines of Deiss this is a great place to start. He has always been adamant that the great wines of Alsace are 100% about place and grape second, so much so that he famous for his field blend wines that combine several grapes and that which for Deiss represent one of the great expressions of the region.

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

This is our second shipment of Weinbach’s Sylvaner, drawn 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 deliciously fruity, taut, salivating white with complex aromatics and plush concentration.

A biodynamic Sylvaner among thorns, the 2022 opens with golden orchard fruits, aromatic salts and a twist of savoury herbs, while the palate is packed with silky fruit and balanced by a mouth-watering spine of crystalline acidity. Impressive length, too.

The vines for this 2021 Pinot Blanc Clos Sand were planted in 2013. It was first vinified as a single vineyard in 2018. This is a granitic site, at 400m of altitude, enclosed by forest, looking south-east. Matured in a mix of stainless steel and used 300-liter barrel, because there was not enough wine to fill a foudre , this spent 11 months on gross lees. The nose is shy, with mere suspicions of lemon. The palate is sylph-like but wonderfully juicy and rounded in its concentrated slenderness. It has the richness of yeast and strikes a beautiful balance. Very elegant, finishing with pristine lemon purity. (Bone-dry) ANNE KREBIEHL MW, Vinous

The 2020 estate Pinot Noir spent nine months in one-year-old demi-muids (500L). The nose has that enticing iron-oxide notion and leads onto a slender but sinuous body. Tannins are very fine and smooth. The freshness, despite the hot year, is mouth-watering. This focuses on brightness and tender red fruit and makes a virtue of being translucent, soft and wonderfully tart with red fruit. (Bone-dry) ANNE KREBIEHL MW, Vinous

This great pinot gris has stunning concentration and an amazing interplay of chalky, smoky and ripe yellow fruits character. Only medium-bodied, but with so much mineral power. Everything pulling together drives this along at a racy clip. (96) STUART PIGOTT, jamessuckling.com

A remarkable pinot gris that radically breaks the mold. Although this has stunning roasted apricot and smoky aromas in the nose it is actually a very cool and restrained wine with enormous mineral tension. Some may find this too extreme, but for us it has an almost overwhelming beauty (96) STUART PIGOTT, jamessuckling.com

At once juicy, concentrated and refined, this is a stunning wine that is intended for more or less everyday drinking. A wealth of stone fruit and fresh almond aromas, plus a touch of mandarin oranges. Stunning balance and finesse at the very long, silky finish. STUART PIGGOT

Hang on to your hat! Here’s a dense and dangerous wine for a grape most wine drinkers think can only give no-brainers. Very compact and structured with a dark personality that some may find shocking, but what makes it that way is the gypsum marl minerality that is its soul. Brain-rattling freshness at the super stony finish. From biodynamically grown grapes. (97) STUART PIGOTT, jamessuckling.com

The 2021 Pinot Gris Clos Jebsal is a monopole for Zind-Humbrecht. It is located between Brand and Heimbourg, utterly different from both, with calcareous marl and gypsum on south-facing terraces. In the past, this was dedicated to making sweeter wines with botrytis. The vines were planted in 1983. The nose has a flicker of reduction, followed by an aromatic notion of pear, freshly turned earth and orange peel. The palate has concentration and flow, a russet pear texture and a salty, cool, mouth-watering core. The saltiness is more intense than the fruit. The beautiful, bone-dry finish is very appetizing ANNE KREBIEHL MW, Vinous Media

An extraordinarily fine and fresh wine for this grape variety. What an excitingly smoky nose this youthful dry gewurz has. Very cool and silky with a delicate touch of bitterness that gives this an extra kick in the extremely long finish that’s clean and linear. (95) STUART PIGGOT

Welcome to the wild side of pinot gris, but don’t imagine for a second that this is a lush wine. In spite of all the power, this is super-cool and tense. If you have the patience, then let yourself sink into this incredibly dense and compact dry wine. Massive dark minerality in the extremely long finish. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold. 97 STUART PIGOTT, jamessuckling.com

Very smoky and chalky, this remarkable pinot gris has power and concentration, yet is emphatically dry on the medium- to full-bodied palate. Such a zesty freshness in the long, elegant finish, where there’s a touch of tobacco leaves. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold.  STUART PIGOTT, jamessuckling.com

Smoky and delicately exotic with touches of bergamot and gunpowder, this is a super-elegant dry pinot gris that shows what this grape is capable of. Tremendous textural complexity in the very long, silky finish. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold.  95 STUART PIGOTT, jamessuckling.com

Welcome to the Riesling deep end. Not dramatic, but really profound, with massive structure. This is all wrapped in very refined mirabelle and fresh honeycomb aromas. Great textural complexity and chalky minerality. Flows so gracefully over the palate, gliding off into the distance. A mix of vines planted just after 1945 and young vines from a massal selection. Basket-pressed. (97) SRUART PIGOTT, jamessuckling.com

The 2020 Riesling Clos Saint Landelin is already open and shows exquisitely ripe tart apple notes. A gorgeous aromatic overtone of apple and yarrow carries over to the palate, where a super-smooth, concentrated palate projects generosity without any fatness. The texture has a notion of citrus pith and chalkiness. A lovely and taut Riesling with a lasting finish with a distinct trace of wet limestone. (Bone-dry) ANNE KREBIEHL MW

STAFF PICKS 2022 - ROSCOE HALLIGAN-ROSE


What a wine. It was a bit of an all-out brawl this year to see who would take out the big gong. I nabbed a couple of contenders on a recent weekend to examine them properly in the right kind of environment, under a tree in my yard with some mates and some nibbles. At the end There Can Be Only One and that had to be the Freddy Emile 2016. It's like they bottled The Quickening.
The power here is genuinely staggering. It's so compact and tense that it isn't entirely comfortable to taste at this early stage. Even with a few years under the belt it is almost completely primary with little or no indication of age showing amongst that youthfully imploded and inwardly focused fruit. Scintillating stuff. It practically hums with pent up potential. The length is unreal and it stains the palate with wildly mineral fruit. The palate is hugely impactful and it hits like a sock stuffed with pool balls being swung around. It is  a genuine WOW wine but it comes with a caveat, do not drink them too early. There is so much here just waiting to unveil itself. This is probably the best young version of this storied wine I have ever drunk. ROSCOE


Luminous straw-yellow. Complex, mint-accented aromas of nectarine, tangerine and powdered stone, plus a hint of licorice. Then bright, juicy and dense, showing outstanding acid-sugar balance and a penetrating juiciness to the stone fruit and herbal flavors. Finishes multilayered and very long, displaying noteworthy clarity and limy cut on the saline finish. Wine lovers everywhere know just how great Frédéric Emile Rieslings can be, but this looks to be a real knockout in the making; I absolutely love this wine's mineral drive and precision. It pulls off the neat trick of being both very ageworthy and also lovely to drink right now. I was happy to know that my palate was still working after an extremely long day of tasting when I told Pierre that in this vintage of Frédéric Emile I found more of the Geisberg than the Osterberg (in most vintages, the wine is a blend of 60/40 Osterberg-Geisberg, at times even 70/30, but this year it's more like 55/45). (97+) IAN D'AGATA, Vinous Media

The lemon-sherbet note here is really beautiful. Then comes a wealth of herbs, ranging from thyme to parsley, with a touch of sea salt, before turning to more floral nuances, such as cherries and almond blossom. The powerful acidity seems to surround the whole mouth and makes this almost like licking a lemon; the unmistakable dryness is all the more enjoyable because of it. Long and very elegant on the finish. STUART PIGOTT

A rich and vibrant pinot gris that manages to also be light, delicate and graceful. Very deep and cool finish that pulls you down into dark ocean waters where you encounter the mystery of this great wine (96) STUART PIGOTT, jamessuckling.com

This has almost exactly the balance that I remember from the great gewurz of the late 20th century. Fragrant turkish delight character, rich yet dry with a wonderful interplay of ripeness, a mere hint of grape sweetness and complex spiciness. What a beautiful finish! (97) STUART PIGOTT, jamessuckling.com

Pinot gris has the reputation of being easygoing, but this dry pinot gris from Alsace has enormous energy and vitality. The staggering citrusy juiciness electrifies the super concentrated, medium-bodied palate. At this stage in the wine’s very long life, the finish is a wild ride thanks to the chalky intensity. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drinkable now, but best from 2026. 97 STUART PIGOTT, jamessuckling.com

I love the subtle floral honey, ripe grapefruit and shiso leaf aromas of this super elegant and creamy, full-bodied gewurz that is so unique you might well not recognize the grape variety. What delicacy and vitality at the long, silky finish. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold.  96 STUART PIGOTT, jamessuckling.com