History
Eric Beydon Schlumberger (1944-2014) took over the family estate in 1971, in which every had to be redone ! His passion and his intense work allowed the estate to reborn and to be back at one of the greatest estate in Alsace region. The late harvest (Vendange Tardive-appellation since 1984) are wines harvested in overmaturity, several weeks after the harvest. The Riesling Vendanges Tardives is a very rare wine, the grape offer an extraordinary freshness to this sweet wine.
Location
Coming from the subtile blend of Grands Crus Kessler, Spiegel and Kitterlé, this very rare Cuvée is born from our steep slopes with sandstone and volcanic soils, oriented east and south east.
Wine-making
The vines were carefully tended from their winter pruning until the harvest. Harvested manually from our steep vineyards, the grapes are then transported in small crates (to prevent the berries from getting crushed) to our winery where they are then slowly pressed. After racking for about 3 days, the perfectly clear juices are put to ferment in tuns where the temperature is strictly controlled. Fermentations last from 1 to 3 months until spring. The wines are then stabilised, filtered and then bottled. The bottles are stored, labelled and shipped all over the world.
Gastronomy
Ideal to accompany a pork tagine with lemon, a duck in orange sauce, a blue-veined cheese, such as the Fourme d’Ambert or a rhubarb pie with meringue.
Learn more about food & wine pairingTasting
The robe is golden yellow with green reflections of good intensity. The disk is bright, limpid and transparent. The wine shows youth.
The nose is marked, pleasant and of good intensity. We perceive a dominant of crystallized scents, honey but also citrus fruits, lemon and white flowers. The airing enhances the previous scents and reveals delicate notes of citron, orange, peach, spices, candied ginger as well as a fine underlying mineral and smoky touch. The nose is a bit short. The botrytis’s noble mark needs time to express itself and flourish.
The onset in the mouth is dense, semi-liquorish. The alcohol support is balanced. The wine evolves on a medium with a frank liveliness, marked by a sparking note. The range of flavours is similar of that of the nose, dominated by candied citrus fruits, lemon, orange, peach, honey, spices, ginger, a delicate floral note, orange blossom and still this underlying mineral and smoky touch. The finish has a good length, 8-9 caudalies, and a frank and refreshing vivacity. The structure is rich and full, perfectly balanced by the mineral tension. The range of flavours expresses the precise sorting of this year’s grapes. Very good job !
Technical sheet by M. Pascal Leonetti
“Best Sommelier of France 2006”
