
2019 Schlumberger Riesling Grand Cru Saering
$ 32.99
This Riesling is NOT SWEET! It's dry and floral and rather gorgeous.
With a single holding of more than 330 acres at Guebwiller, Domaines Schlumberger is the largest Grands Crus producer in Alsace. All Schlumberger wines are estate-grown. Seventy-five percent of the vines are planted on very steep, terraced slopes, requiring horses be used for fieldwork.
The outstanding quality of the wines is due largely to Schlumberger’s superior vineyards, but also because yields are deliberately kept low. The winery produces only 80,000 cases annually, while the law allows for up to 160,000.
First mentioned in 1250, the Saering plot slips from the hill and extends like a peninsula on the plain, forming a sort of tongue of land in the form of a ring. It has been sold under its own since 1830. To the north of Guebwiller, Saering faces east and south-east at an altitude of ranging from 260 to 300 meters. The Saering marl, limestone, and sandstone terroir brings out the best in this magnificent, fine, delicate Riesling.
Winemaker Notes
The robe is lemon yellow with light 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 citrus fruits, (mandarin zest, lemon, crystallised orange), white flowers and a light ferruginous, bloody touch. The airing enhances these scents and reveals smoky, flinty notes and spices (ginger). The nose is open and has already a mineral hint. The perfect ripeness of the grapes expresses a splendid terroir profile. The onset in the mouth is fleshy and the alcoholic base full-bodied. The wine evolves on a rigorous medium, marked by a delicate salinity and a sparkling note. Aromas are more austere, first dominated by mineral (flint, naphta) then by citrus fruits (yuzu zest, lime), white flowers and spices (ginger). There is a significant mineral bitterness. That balance is remarkable! Despite the exposure to sunlight, the Riesling extraordinarily emphasises the soil. With its noble bitterness, this wine is made for decades.
Critical Acclaim
Decanter, 93 points
Like all great Alsace Rieslings, this has the acidity to guarantee it a long life ahead, but it's delicious now nonetheless. Schlumberger is a famous name - and the largest estate - in the Alsace region, with 140ha planted, half on grand cru sites like this one. The beauty of this wine lies in the contrast between the fleshy, forward peach and lemon citrus fruit and the backbone that comes from racy acidity and a seam of minerality. There's only 2g/L residual sugar, so no perceptible sweetness. Just delicous dry Riesling with great cellaring potential. Drinking Window: 2022-2030.
Wine & Spirits, 91 points
Racy, ricey and rich in yellow fruit, from apple to plum to lemon, this is a clean, linear riesling with talc-like minerality keeping it tightly focused. It’s youthful and needs bottle age to develop its breadth of flavor.
France, Alsace
100% Riesling
14.2% Alcohol
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Bottles are in perfect condition.