Gewurztraminer Kappelweg, Domaine Rolly-Gassmann, 2021

Named after Marie-Thérèse Rolly and Louis Gassman, whose marriage brought about this successful winemaking partnership, this estate dates back to 1676 and is based in the sleepy village of Rorschwihr, in the northern tip of the Haut-Rhin departement,. The business is currently run by Pierre Gassmann, who has converted the vineyards around the village and in the nneighbouring villages of Rodern and Bergheim to biodynamic viticulture.

Rolly Gassmann has 60 hectares of vines in total – quite a large amount for this area – and as a result it can produce wines in a wide range of styles. While there may not be any grand cru vineyards in Rorschwihr, it does have several good vineyards with a great variety of soil types. These include Kappelweg, which has calcareous marl soil, Moenchreben’s clay-marl with gravel, Oberer-Weingarten’s soils of clay on Jurassic limestone, and Pflaenzerreben and Silberberg, both of which have muschelkalk soils, a mixture of limestone and dolomite rock. It also has a small amount of grand cru vines in Altenberg de Bergheim.

The Rolly Gassmann style is highly individual. Grapes are picked fully ripe and the development of noble rot is welcomed. Most of the wines are single-varietals, including several late-harvest examples. Many have residual sweetness with the best also having good acidity levels to match, making them among the longest-lived in Alsace. Rolly Gassmann is one of the few houses who habitually have wines for sale with plenty of bottle age, re-releasing them when they deem they are ready for drinking

2018 will always be remembered as a milestone vintage for the domaine. Pierre Gassmann has built an impressive new cellar with a stunning tasting room with a view, replacing the charming but crowded old tasting room near the church. And, like her mother and other ancestors before her, during a 'unique and exceptional vintage', matriarch Marie-Thérèse Gassmann died, marking the end of an era for the wines of Alsace and for this great domaine.