FRANCE: Alsace
2017 Gold: 3 Silver: 6 Bronze: 2 Commended: 4
2016 Gold: 1 Silver: 0 Bronze: 1 Commended: 2
After a couple of years of ‘meh’, Alsace was back on form in 2017. Eleven medals was a strong showing and, perhaps more to the point, the feedback from the tasters was pretty positive too – particularly for the Rieslings.
It was, perhaps, a shame that no Pinot Gris got beyond Silver, and red submissions (as usual) were conspicuous by their absence from the competition as a whole, so we didn’t quite manage to get a full spread of styles on our Gold List. But two well-priced Rieslings and a Gewürz added a certain pizzazz to our final offering. And as several tasters pointed out, if you’re looking for wines to go with Asian food, this is about as good a place to look as any.
FROM THE TASTING TEAMS
‘Riesling is difficult to sell. It’s too expensive.’ Andrea Cotichella, Wernher Restaurant at Luton Hoo Hotel Golf & Spa
‘I loved the Gewürz side of the flight, surprisingly. We have sold it in the past but not currently – with food that rosewater character can start to interfere and it’s not the most popular variety these days.’ James Fryer, Portland Restaurant
‘The Riesling flight was superb. Very classic, traditional styles but racy, vibrant mineral and flinty. Generally, in my opinion, Alsace Riesling is difficult to find at entry level, but this flight proved me wrong.’ Diana Rollan, Hakkassan Group
‘For [Riesling] Gold, you’re looking for purity of expression, not just varietal expression; this is Riesling with a location. The Millennial generation are motivated by experience, and here you can tie a wine to a place and the local culture to create a back story; that shifts their focus away from price.’ Matthew Cocks, WineEd
‘In Alsace, Riesling has a lot of potential for bottle age. [The Sommerberg] was starting to develop the tertiary flavours connected to the terroir and grape, like petroleum and elegant spice, ginger and white pepper. It’s ideal for certain types of dishes that are emphasised with spices and sweetness, such as Asian, Indian. It helps to calm enthusiastic spicing.’ Alessandro de Angelis, Jamavar
‘For me, for Riesling, Alsace is the weakest area in the world – too much of that rich honeyed character. But this flight of wines was amazing.’ Laurent Richet MS, team leader