An unusual Grand Cru in that the grape that is perhaps its greatest exponent is Sylvaner. There are not many vineyards devoted to Sylvaner in Alsace at all, let alone Grand Cru real estate, but the Sylvaner from Zotzenberg can be absolutely electrifying, and there are not enough of them that ever make it to the States. It is situated almost in the midst of the town, as is not uncommon throughout Alsace, but it doesn't define the landscape in quite the same way as such dramatically located vineyards as Schlossberg or Rangen. But let's back up...

The Cru and Its Grapes
This excellent Bas-Rhin cru has been widely regarded so since the 16th Century (according to the locals), though its heritage stretches back to at least the mid-14th Century. Zotzenberg's fame was such that--like Kaefferkopf and Sporen (among others)--it's wines were sold under the vineyard name by the beginning of the 20th Century, long before the INAO began delimiting viticultural areas. Its 90 acres of limestone and marl stretches from west to east in graceful amphitheater-like slope on the north side of the beautiful village of Mittelbergheim. Alongside its famous Sylvaner, I have also tasted excellent Zotzenberg Riesling and Gewürztraminer. I have heard anecdotally that Pinot Gris performs quite well here, but I have never seen or heard of a Muscat in production from Zotzenberg, so I do not know if it occupies any real estate. Given Muscat's relatively small percentage of Alsace's overall vine population, it would be safe to surmise that if it is planted in Zotzenberg, it holds a miniscule place there.

The Finest Wines of Zotzenberg (insofar as my experience tells it...)
The export market, alas, represents too few producers of great wines from this cru. In other words, there are simply too few producers whose wines are exported at all. While out of context that statement may be true for Alsace as a whole--demand for Alsace wine remains stubbornly static--this is a cru whose wines should attract attention because of the Grand Cru Sylvaner. The body of wine lovers whose fascination with such things is large enough to support multiple producers in the marketplace, but the only producer I have found in the market recently was Albert Seltz. I have been lucky enough to have a Gewürztraminer (2006) and Sylvaner (2005), both of which were excellent. I have also been thrilled by the wines of Domaine Boeckel, whose wines wines have intermittently been available in the U.S. Among many highlights of my last trip to Alsace were three wines from Boeckel: a banana-butterscotch-rose inflected Gewürztraminer (2007) with a long, mouth-watering finish; a corpulent Riesling (2007) redolent of orange and bergamot that reminded me of the physicality and vividness of a Geisberg or Rangen Riesling (though without the fathomlessness inherent in Rieslings from those crus); and a spectacularly effulgent Sylvaner (2007) whose crystalline minerality dovetailed nicely with elements of citrus and lentils.

Popularity: 15% [?]

One of three Altenbergs in Alsace (the other two being Bergheim and Wolxheim), Altenberg de Bergbieten is a 71.5 acre vineyard of marl-clay soil containing fragmented gypskeuper. Gewurztraminer and Riesling excel in this vineyard, but I have had an excellent Muscat from here as well. The wines from this Cru are unique (a hallmark of a Grand Cru), exhibiting what I would describe (such as one can describe something ineffable) as a spicy floral character.

Grand Cru...Really?
I have had several wines from this Grand Cru, and only two estates have produced the kind of exquisite wine one should expect from a Grand Cru: Frédérich Mochel and Roland Schmitt. They seem to me to be the lonely standard bearers for the delimitation of this land as Grand Cru.

Though I encountered the wines of Roland Schmitt first, I have more experience with wines from Mochel (thanks to David Schildknecht, who introduced me to Mochel several years ago, when he was still running the imports at Vintner Select). Mochel usually crafts his basic Riesling and Gewurztraminer of Grand Cru fruit. He reserves the Grand Cru label for the most singular fruit, which has often been affected by botrytis cinerea to some degree. This certainly raises the bar for the Cru itself, and suggests that a secondary tier (Premier Cru) would be appropriate for at least a portion of the vineyard.

Popularity: 2% [?]