Weinbach 'Les Vignes du Precheur' 2021

40% Riesling, 30% Auxerrois, 20% Pinot Gris, 5% Muscat, and 5% Sylvaner

Biodynamic in conversion. A terrific follow up to last year’s inaugural release, this charming cuvée hails from a recently acquired parcel. Les Vignes du Precheur—‘the preacher’s vines’—takes its name from a single vineyard located beneath the Grand Cru Kaefferkopf, not far from the domaine. It’s on sandy/silt soils perfectly suited to producing fresh and dry, early-drinking whites. The site is currently managed organically and is in conversion to both organic and biodynamic certification. 

Prêcheur is a co-fermentation of five Alsatian varieties: 40% Riesling; 30% Auxerrois; 20% Pinot Gris; 5% Muscat; and 5% Sylvaner. The fruit was pressed as whole bunches and fermented wild in old oak vats. The wine spent eight months on lees before being bottled unfined.  Bustling with citrusy vibrancy, 2021 is a lithe, chiselled white with vibrant freshness counterpointing the wine’s enticing, fleshy summer fruit and floral prettiness. There’s signature Weinbach intensity, yet the wine feels uber-bright, with grip and balanced acidity alongside yellow-fruited length and light phenolic grip that draws you back to the glass.