Furstentum Pinot Gris

Type du vin : aromatic dry white
Cépage : Pinot Gris
Alcool : 14 % alc/vol
Température : 10 - 14 °C
Conservation : 10 years

Terroir:
Furstentum lies at 400m altitude, facing due south.
It is one of the last remaining vestiges of the sub-Mediterranean era which Alsace experienced.
The soil is very stony and drains well because the calcareous bedrock breaks through.
Vinification:
The juice is extracted with infinite care in our air-bag press. The slow, gentle pressing avoids crushing the stalks and pips.
The must starts fermenting of its own accord thanks to the natural yeast present in the juice, and the fermentation generally lasts from 4 to 10 weeks. It is carried out in stainless-steel vats equipped with temperature control, a medium which maximises the expression of this variety's aromas.
Elevage:
The wine is matured on its lees in large oak barrels for 12 months.
This lees-contact contributes richness to the wine. What is more, the oxygen which passes through the pores of the wood brings about a gentle oxidization of the wine, and the subsequent opening up of its aromas.
The wine is then bottled and aged for 2 to 3 further years before being offered for sale.
This bottle-ageing also plays a role in the wine's development. Here, the opposite of oxidization happens: thanks to certain reactions in the oxygen-free environment, the bouquet develops and takes on subtler nuances.
Dégustation:
Appearance: Has a very fine white-golden yellow tint. Fine luminous flashes, fresh and clear, golden-yellow-straw/thatch.
Nose: Perfectly regular and at the same time modest, mild, wise and deliciously serious. Lovely scents of pear, still hardly buttered, with fine spiciness overlaying a refined, stylish smokey touch. Then come the quince, hazelnuts and almonds...
The palate is already rather more talkative than the nose... and has an elegant, classy texture. Richness, ripeness (if without real sugariness) yet also desire, strength and vigour. Deliciously spicy, plump flesh.
A lovely retro-olfactive spread, totally natural, unrushed, unforced. Keep an eye on this wine!
C.I.D.D. - Alain SEGELLE - October 2002
Accords mets-vins:
Flavoursome fish and poultry.
Références:
- Closed on the nose. Still tight in the mouth, rich, expressive (liquorice, truffle, blood oranges, dried lemon). Great length and balance.
La Revue du Vin de France, special "France 2000 Vintage" edition. June 2001

- Peach, lime peel, smoke and gunflint on the nose. Powdered stone and ginger more than mere fruit here; conveys a stronger impression of soil tones than the Schlossberg tokay. Finishes tactile and long, and much dryer than the Schlossberg.
Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar-July/ August 2001.

- An elegant and complex Tokay Furstentum 2000, both fresh and mineral and very harmonious on the palate.
Guide Dussert-Gerber des Vins de France 2003.

- Lovely and aromatic wines that you won't need to take out a mortgage to buy. Look for the Schlossberg Tokay Pinot Gris and Rieslings. * * *
Officiel Wine Guide 2001 by Alice S.Feiring.