160 Muscat Altenberg de Bergbieten Grand Cru AC 2005
Domaine Fréderic Mochel

Grape:100% Muscat Ottonel (13% alc, 7g/l of rs)

This comes from 30 year old vines and is a richer, bigger structured wine than the village wine. It is a long keeper – the 1988 was outstanding in late 2005! Once the wine gets beyond 6 years it takes an altogether different guise, revealing layers of complexity that make it one of France’s finest, most surprising and under-rated grape varieties. For drinking now to 2020+.

Technical Information
Winemaker:	Guillaume Mochel
Location:	Traenheim
Size of domaine:	10 hectares (inc 5 Grand Cru Altenberg de Bergbieten)
Grape:	Muscat Ottonel (30 yr old vines) on S04. 5500 vines per hectare, trained guyot double.
Terroir:	South facing hillside, well sheltered at 230 mtrs altitude, kauper marls and dolomites (brittle transluscent mineral consisting of the carbonates of lime and magnesia). One of first 5 sites back in 1983 to gain grand cru status (next 25 in 1990).
Viticulture:	Plough soil 1 row in 2, grass sown in other row – this results in fewer leaves, more aerated grape bunches and smaller grapes. Add cow manure very occasionally. Debud and carry out vendanges en verts. Hand harvest 100% (the only 1 of 22 growers in Traenheim). Yield – 45 hectos per hectare
Vinification:	Natural yeasts only. Uses pneumatic press. 2 days of maceration pelliculaire then 20 hours debourbage. Vinification in mix of stainless steel and old foudres at an average temp 17° and max of 20°C. The vinification lasts between 3 weeks to 4 months. Malos blocked. Aged in 50-200 yr old oak foudres (which contain plaques to control temperature). 1 racking. Bottled in August. Fining no. Filtration – in spring kieselhur, and then plaque at bottling using their own equipment. 4500 bottles per year on average.
Press:

 

qty (bottles)

exc vat: £17.45