Domaine Rieflé-Landmann in Pfaffenheim, Alsace, was the last estate we visited on our
Elsass Tour 2019 mit dem Weinfreundeskreis Hochheim, Frankreich
Annick Rieflé was our host. We started the visit with a tour of the cellar and then sat down in the tasting room for a formal tasting.
See also:
Cellar Tour and Tasting at Domaine Rieflé-Landmann in Pfaffenheim, Alsace, with Paul Rieflé - Germany-South and Alsace 2018 Tour by ombiasy WineTours
Winemaker Dinner with Jean-Claude Rieflé of Domaine Rieflé-Landmann, Alsace, at Bart Vandaele's Belga Café on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, USA/ Alsace
Last year, Annick's husband, Jean-Claude Rieflé 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.
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.
2018 Ad Quatratum L'Étoffe Domaine Rieflé Dry
The perfect partner for grilled meats and soft cheeses such as Camembert and Brie. It is also a good match for middle eastern dishes such as lamb tajines and couscous. Pinot Noir.
2018 Ad Quatratum L'Aplomb Domaine Rieflé Dry
L’arabesque = wisps, volutes, oriental, jazzy, fanciful. It is an off-dry, structured, tasty, spicy and very fruity wine. Gewurztraminer based blend.
2018 Ad Quatratum L'Eclat Domaine Rieflé Dry
L’éclat = the burst, the rock shard, the splinter, the shine. It is a dry, fresh and crisp wine with briliance and fruitiness. Blend based on Riesling.
2015 1er Cru Bihl Domaine Rieflé Dry
Its name is derived from the Indo-European term behl* meaning ''bright'', ''burning'', ''shining'' and ''radiant''. The Gallic god Belenos, God of the Sun, is blessed with such attributes and represents sunlight on the surface of the Earth.
The Rhine plain was formed around 50 million years ago as a natural response to the collapse of the Vosges-Black Forest mountain range. Marine deposits settled during this phase and add to the complexity of the surficial geology of the vineyard today. The Bihl is composed of very hard limestone originating from these marine sedimentary deposits. The surface has a beige-yellow coloured layer of earth about 20cm thick. The limestone stretches across a thick layer of limestone.
Riesling is the perfect tool for revealing the true expression of this terroir and produces powerful wines that retain their elegance and delicate acidity. They also display an element of salinity making them very palatable. Characteristic aromas include citrus fruits, citronella and pineapple in their youth with more mineral notes developing with age. Wines produced here always have good cellaring potential.
High quality Gewurztraminer and Pinot Noir wines are also produced in the Bihl vineyards.
The Riesling produced here is the perfect accompaniment for all fish and white meats and will add a special touch to relaxed, festive occasions.
2014 Grand Cru Steinert Steinstück 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.
2018 Ad Quatratum L'Arabesque Domaine Rieflé Semi Sweet
L’arabesque = wisps, volutes, oriental, jazzy, fanciful. It is an off-dry, structured, tasty, spicy and very fruity wine. Gewurztraminer based blend.
Bye-bye
Many thanks Annick for a great event.
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