2019 Domaine Ostertag Gewurztraminer "Fronholz" Vendange Tardives, Alsace, France

ABOUT THIS WINE

Located on the top and the southwest slopes of the hill of Epfig, the Fronholz vineyard gives wines with marked minerality, firm acidity, and elegant aromas that can be rather discreet in their youth. The estate’s four hectares are divided among Riesling (1 ha), Muscat (0.3 ha), Pinot Noir (0.3 ha), Pinot Gris (0.75 ha), Gewurztraminer (1.3 ha), and Sylvaner (0.35 ha).

Fermented and aged in stainless steel tank. Aged, sur lie, for 8 months.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

André Ostertag’s winery is a complex of buildings on the edge of the town of Epfig, which lies midway between Strasbourg and Colmar, about 35 kilometres from each. Epfig is 5 km east from the long snaking line where the Alsace vineyards hug the lower hills of the Vosges Mountains, and it is one of the few wine towns/villages that doesn’t sit bang on the wine route. See the map for the location. The Romans settled here and named their village Epiacum. We assume they planted a few vines, and fragments of Roman pottery continue to turn up as the vineyards are worked.

The Ostertag domaine was established in 1966 by Andrés father, and that counts as start-up material in Alsace, where domaines often go back ten to fifteen generations. André took over in 1980 following winemaking studies in Burgundy. In Alice Feiring’s recent book The Dirty Guide to Wine, she writes that the Alsace region is filled with philosophers and thinkers, and immediately goes on to quote André Ostertag. Often referred to as a philosopher and poet, we also see André as a director, maître de scene, auteur, and transformer.