Earlier this year, Jean-Claude Rieflé of Domaine Rieflé-Landmann, Alsace, spent a week in the Washington DC area "to work the market". Annette and I attended a fabulous winemaker dinner with Jean-Claude Rieflé at Bart Vandaele's Belga Café on Capitol Hill as well as a winetasting at McLean Wine Outlet in McLean, Virginia. At these encounters we agreed with Jean-Claude Rieflé that on the forthcoming ombiasy tour to Alsace, we would visit him. And we did. Unfortunately, Jean-Claude could not meet us when we visited as he was on a sales trip. Instead, his son Paul took care of us.
We started the visit with a tour of the cellar, where Paul Rieflé was cleaning the barrels. We continued with a tasting of the Rieflé wines and were joined by Paul. Before leaving, we spent a few minutes in the vineyard with Paul Rieflé.
Domaine Rieflé-Landmann
Viticulture has been a Rieflé family affair for 6 generations, since 1850. From the 1980s, Annick and Jean-Claude Rieflé were at the helm. They were joined at the domaine by their sons, Thomas and Paul, in 2009 and 2010, respectively. Thomas manages the vineyard and Paul is in charge of sales and marketing. Recently, the Rieflé family took over the vineyards of Seppi Landmann and renamed the estate to Domaine Rieflé-Landmann. The vineyard area totals 23 hectares, including a plot in the Grand Cru vineyard Steinert.
Domaine Rieflé-Landmann (Stephan Reinhard/ Robert Parker)
Stephan Reinhard (Robert Parker's Wine Advocate): Domaine Rieflé-Landmann is the new name of the former Domaine Rieflé, which is located in a beautiful old winemaker's house that was built in Pfaffenheim, Southern Alsace, in 1609. That's because the Rieflé family took over the vineyards from the vigneron and bon vivant Seppi Landmann, a living legend who started his late winemaking career in 1982 without owning a winery. Landmann had rented a cellar in Soultzmatt where he produced some remarkably good, if not mythic wines beyond all traditions (Cuvée Sophie Marceau, Cuvée Erotique, Hors La Loi, Vallée Noble, Grand Cru Zinnkoepflé...). His personal brand still exists (otherwise he would not have sold his vineyards) so that's why the renamed Domaine Rieflé-Landmann markets its wines under two different signatures: the well established Domaine Rieflé and the Seppi Landmann brand.
The family, today represented by the young brothers Thomas (who cares for the vineyards) and Paul Rieflé (who does all the marketing things and showed me the vineyards and the wines), farms 79 different blocks adding up to 23 hectares (57 acres). The vines are located close to the winery in Pfaffenheim and Rouffach and, since Landmann sold his vines, also in Westhalten and Soultzmatt. They are classified for six different appellations: Crémant d'Alsace, Alsace, Alsace Côte de Rouffach, Alsace Vallée Noble, Alsace Grand Cru Steinert and Alsace Grand Cru Zinnkoepflé. Paul hopes that the lieu-dits of Pfaffenheim -- Bergweingarten (a small single vineyard within the Côte de Rouffach and adjacent to the Grand Cru Steinert which is, and always was, planted 90% with Gewurztraminer) and Bihl (east of the village) -- will receive Premier Cru status one day.
The Rieflé brothers share a humanist and socially responsible approach to winemaking. Faced with the realities of a global market, they took inspiration from the famous quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: "We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children."
Since years, the domaine farmed their vineyards organically and with the recently released 2014 vintage, Rieflé-Landmann is an AB-certified organic wine producer. Unusual enough yet visionary, perhaps the manual work is outsourced to a local association for professional reintegration, what Paul Rieflé calls "a part of our humanist approach and support for the local community." It also "engenders a strong identity which cannot be delocalized, and which is a guarantee of sustainability in a rapidly changing world," Paul believes...
Although by far I did not taste all the wines produced at Rieflé-Landmann -- curious to taste the Bergweingarten once -- the wine quality is very good if not excellent, whereas the prices are still extremely fair. This is a very promising domaine to discover and some of the wines should (or will) be available in the US.
The Wines we Tasted
Stephan Reinhard (Robert Parker's Wine Advocate): The domaine produces a wide but well structured range of wines -- variety wines for every day, villages wines for more ambitious wine lovers and the grands crus and late harvested wines for hedonists -- that reflect the originality of the Alsatian wine culture and the specific terroirs. The most prominent single vineyard of the former Domaine Rieflé is the Grand Cru Steinert which overlooks the village of Pfaffenheim, in which the family holds 65 ares. It is based on an oolitic limestone massif, which is scarcely covered by topsoil in several places. Whereas Riesling is planted on the uppermost part of the cru, Pinot Gris likes it halfway down on the flattest parts. To stress the influence of the terroir, Rieflé produced a blend of Riesling and Pinot Gris under the Grand Cru Steinert appellation in 2014; whereas in 2013 the Seppi Landmann Grand Cru Zinnkoepflé was already an assemblage of four varieties. Will this be the future at Rieflé-Landmann: selling terroir instead of varieties? This would be courageous and pioneering.
Crémant d'Alsace Blanc de Blanc Brut Domaine Rieflé NV
This Crémant Brut, made from 40% Pinot Blanc, 40% Auxerrois, 10% Pinot Gris and 10% Auxerrois is floral and delicately fruity on the nose with notes of brioche. It is generous on the palate, with fine bubbles and a sugar dosage which remains discreet.
2015 Muscat Cuvée Erotique SeppiLandmann
2016 Riesling Riesling Domaine Rieflé
2013 Riesling 1er Cru Bihl Domaine Rieflé
2016 Riesling 1er Cru Steinstück Domaine Rieflé
2014 Riesling Grand Cru STEINERT Domaine Rieflé
The Grand Cru Steinert vineyard lies 13km south of Colmar and overlooks the village of Pfaffenheim. It sits just below the Schauenberg mountain, known as the mountain of contemplation, which is considered to be an important place of natural energy.
Steinert literally refers to the stony nature of the terroir. It lies opposite the Alsace plain, the Rhine and the Black Forest and faces towards the rising sun. The hard, homogeneous, dry and filtering soil sits directly on the oolithic limestone bedrock which is partially visible on the surface. Oolites are small spherical grains, shaped like fish eggs, that were formed on the surface of the rocks by marine microfossils. Wines from the Steinert vineyards are characterised by their powerful structure combined with a subtle finesse and underlying menthol notes.
Domaine Rieflé has 65 ares of vines on this terroir. Riesling is planted on the uppermost part of the parcel and Pinot Gris half-way down on the flattest parts.
Alcohol: 12°
Acidity : 9,6 g/l (tartric)
Residual sugar: 8 g
2011 Pinot Gris Grand Cru STEINERT Domaine Rieflé
This Grand Cru Steinert Pinot Gris opens up with an expressive bouquet of zesty yellow fruits such as pineapple and mango. Although smooth in texture, the limestone terroir imparts a fresh and acidic structure, which is accentuated by candied notes of quince and fig on the end palate.
The perfect partner for foie gras but you can also try it with a generously garnished tuna steak or with desserts such as pineapple fritters or crème brûlée.
Alcohol: 14.5%
Residual Sugar: 39.1 g/l
Tartaric Acid: 5.9 g/l
Pinot Noir L'Étoffe Domaine Rieflé 2016
Forbes: White grapes are typically what first jump to mind when we think of Alsace – Riesling in particular, plus Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Sylvaner, and Muscat make up about 90% of their plantings. Pinot Noir, however, counts for the other 10% and its numbers have slowly been growing in recent years; it is the only red variety in the region and is now the fifth most planted grape overall.
What accounts for its recent emergence? Winemakers point to climate change (which enables the grapes to reach consistent phenolic ripeness), and the next generation’s intentionally broad experience globally before returning to their home region to succeed their parents in the vineyard and the cellar. Technically, it’s the region’s clay and limestone soils that are responsible for Alsatian Pinot’s light to medium body, red fruit aromas, vibrant acidity, and fresh tannins.
It is a silky red wine, with soft tannins and red fruits flavours. 100% Pinot Noir.
Alcohol: 13%
Acidity: 5.3 g/l (tartric)
Residual sugar: 0 g/l
Evening and Night in Riquewhir
Following the tasting, we drove to Riquewhir and checked in at Hotel Le Schoenenbourg. Hotel Le Schoenenbourg in Riquewhir, Alsace, is a 3 ½ star hotel with a great outdoor pool, nestled at the foot of vine-covered rolling hills just outside of the city gate of Riquewhir, a typical very charming, romantic Alsatian wine town.
We had an Alsatian dinner at Restaurant La Grappe d'Or in Riquewhir. La Grappe d'Or was our second choice. Our first choice, D'Brendelstub, was closed on that day; this is a traditional restaurant serving excellent local specialities prepared under the direction of 1 Michelin star chef Jean-Luc Brendel. His Michelin starred restaurant “La Table du Gourmet” around the corner is one of my absolute favorites in all of Alsace (closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays).
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