MEDICUS FEBRUARY 2016

W I N E

Bountiful land yields top wines

T his January has been as usual hot and ideal for the beach, not to mention perfect timing for those exceptionally fresh and clean wines that show old world charm, character and unmistakable texture. One could not do better than Alsace in north-east France for the benchmark styles of Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Gewurztraminer. The

citrus. A wine that needs to age for 3-4 years.” The Jean Luc Mader Riesling Rosacker Grand Cru 2013 comes from 60 plus year old vines located at the top of the vineyard. It is a ripe and very flattering vintage for this outstanding Grand Cru vineyard, which is home to the famous ‘Clos St

Hune’ Riesling from Trimbach. The wine

showcases great depth, finesse and shape with

rich, intense citrus fruit with notes of minerality and outstanding length. The wine’s great depth of fruit, structure and minerally acidity ensures that 10 years or more of careful cellaring would be well repaid. "A great dry Riesling from a great vintage and great vineyard" according to The Wine Enthusiast . Very fruity now, this is a wine to show how well Riesling can age – cellar it for 6-8 years. Mader’s Pinot Gris is another must try, particularly the Jean Luc Mader Dry Pinot Gris Schlossberg Grand Cru 2013 . This offers a firm, elegant aroma with some spicy apricots and only a hint of sous-bois (forest floor notes). The taste is fruity and full, and not at all sweet. The acidity is fresh, making it perfect on the table. Without any doubt, all of these wines will make your palate sing. Try a bottle of each and you will be back for more. ■

region is one of the great, under- appreciated treasures of the wine world.

Quality continues to rise for the whole range while prices have remained very attractive. The Rieslings are some of the few in Alsace produced in a classic fine dry style built to age. The entire range of wines from the Mader family taste true to their grape varieties and vineyard origins and all represent extraordinary value. The Mader families’ Riesling is part of a small production high quantity philosophy, as the Jean Luc Mader 2013 Riesling shows. It contains almost 20 per cent of de-classified Rosacker Grand cru fruit. This is a fine dry Riesling with texture and depth; intense floral citrus and lime aromas with mineral backing and wonderful acid backbone. The Wine Enthusiast describes it well: “Intense minerality and acidity are the main thrust of this young wine. It has a steely element, so crisp and nervy, full of green apple and powerful

Riesling is the most respected grape variety in Alsace. It is

steely, sometimes tough in youth, and perhaps a little austere for newcomers. It handsomely repays ageing in a bottle, however, for up to 10 years in the case of top bottlings such as Trimbach’s Clos Ste Hune. Rieslings apart, the other white varieties such as Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Gewurztraminer are also highly prized. Domaine Jean-Luc Mader is a small quantity, high quality wine producer in the village of Hunawihr on the Route des Vins. The family owns just seven hectares of vineyards, including prized holdings of vines in the famous ‘Rosacker’ Grand Cru vineyard. All vineyard work is carried out by hand.

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