Weinbach Cuvee Colette Riesling 2016

Cuvée Colette is the new name for this dry Riesling previously known as Cuvée Sainte-Cathérine. Largely responsible for the Weinbach we know today, Catherine Faller’s mother – the ‘Matriarch of Alsatian wine’, Colette Faller – passed away early in 2015 and like her daughter Laurence and husband Théo before her is now immortalised by a wine bearing her name. It comes from very old vines, lower down in the Schlossberg where the soils are deeper. Accordingly its flavour is richer and more intense although it always manages to balance power with great freshness and verve. The 2016 is a case in point – it’s really racy and spicy, with mixed peel, green peppercorn and white pepper notes. Even though it comes entirely from Schlossberg, some of the vines fall outside the grand cru boundary, which is the only reason it cannot be labelled as a grand cru.