Our Growers:

Annie (née Klack) and Jean Mittnacht hail from two of the most ancient, loveliest and most famous winegrowing villages in all of Alsace- Riquewihr and Hunawihr. Their son Franck joined them in the mid-1990s and is now involved in every aspect of the management of the property.

Alsace as a wine-type is enormously expressive of fruit and of terroir. The local practices that set it apart from other areas of France are all done with the aim of expressing the wonderful fruit of the Alsatian grape varieties and the complexity of Alsatian terroir. These are vinification in very large, very old oak casks that allow the wine to breathe but impart no wood flavors and the blocking of the malolactic fermentation to conserve primary fruit and acidity.

Pinot Blanc "Oberberg": This is a wine full of character, sharp and fresh. Aromas of fig, honey, white flowers, a trace of apricot in a firm, clean "mineral" frame (the more exotic aromas come partly from the small proportion of Pinot Auxerrois, a permitted grape in "Pinot Blanc.") From less than an acre of vines in one lieu-dit, Oberberg, the sandy soil adds finesse, and the cool, well-aired slope helps keep the Pinot's compact clusters free of rot.

Pinot Gris, normal cuvée: Firm, bright, not at all heavy with good acidity; fig, blood oranges, a hint of apricot; long, returns well in the mouth. From one lieu-dit, Rockenhausen, the very strong, heavy clay soil is ideal for Pinot Gris.

Riesling, normal cuvée: The normal cuvée of Riesling is anything but normal. It comes from several lieux-dits, three of which are extraordinary to find in a "normal" cuvée: Rockenhausen, Muhlforst, two Grands Crus Rosacker, where the Mittnachts have vines they are entitled to put into their Grand Cru Rosacker but will not because they are not quite good enough, and Schoenenbourg, one of the oldest and most famous Grand Cru Riesling slopes in Alsace. Rieslings grow rich and reckless in the dry Alsatian climate; the resulting wine is dry but honey flavored with a firm mineral base. It is an excellent accompaniment to sauerkraut.

Riesling "Muhlforst": Muhlforst, an ancient vineyard that was planted by the 14th century, is a magnificent, high, wide and steep slope. The soil is very calcareous clay-limestone, ideal for Riesling. The Mittnachts regularly make Vendange Tardive and Sélection de Grains Nobles Riesling from this slope. When they make a dry single-site Riesling Mulforst, it is splendid wine.

Riesling and Pinot Gris from "Clos Saint-Ulrich": The Clos St. Ulrich is a high slope with southeast and southwest expositions and so precipitously steep that a good deal of it must be terraced; it benefits from a westerly wind. The soil is a mixture of clay and sand (decomposed granite), with schistic and granite rocks on the surface.

Riesling, Grand Cru Schoenenbourg: The Grand Cru Schoenenbourg slope faces full south and is thought by many to be the finest Riesling slope in Alsace. Schoenenbourg's soil is exceptional: siliceous dense with hard flintstones on the upper slope, over subsoils of clay mixed with gypsum, limestone or flintstone. The resulting complexity in the wines is extraordinary.

Gewurztraminer, normal cuvée: At various times one can taste pear,lichee,apricot,mango,fig. The wine is full, rich and long but not heavy or cloying, thanks to good acidity. From three lieux-dits: Muhlforst and Clos St. Ulrich and a third lieu-dit just south of Riquewihr, on a low, gentle slope with clay-sand soil, by turns sandier or with more clay. It goes well with a cheese omelet.

Gewurztraminer Grand Cru "Sporen": The Sporen is one of the most famous and most ancient great Getwurtztraminer sites in all of Alsace. The slope is very gentle but the soil is exceptional heavy clay-limestone. The Mittnachts' vines here are old, and in the heart of the Grand Cru. Comparing the Mittnachts three Grand Cru Gewurztraminers is always an education: the Rosacker, from soil that has the least clay and the most limestone, is fine, elegant, reserved in its youth; the Schoenenbourg, with the heaviest clay, is the fattest and showiest when young; and the Sporen, by contrast, seems to be a perfect balance for this grape, of power, length, spice, and just plain class. Muscat d'Alsace "Kronenbourg": Very stylish, fine apricot fruit, firm and long in the mouth; the sheer class of this single-site shines through in this wine despite the relative youth of the vines. The grape is the Muscat à petits grains (small berries) and is from a half-acre plot of 8 year-old vines in the old, well-known lieu-dit Kronenbourg. All of the Mittnachts' vines on this lieu-dit are now Grand Cru.