Domaine Bechtold - Riesling “Nef des Folles” 2020 (750ml)
Price: $34.99
| Producer | Domaine Bechtold |
| Country | France |
| Region | Alsace |
| Varietal | Riesling |
| Vintage | 2020 |
| Sku | 68612 |
| Size | 750ml |
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Domaine Bechtold Description
Jean-Marie Bechtold is the fourth generation to steward this traditional domaine. He began working with his father in 1980 and took the reins in 1995. The estate is located in Dahlenheim, west of Strasbourg in the slopes of the “Couronne d’Or”, a region with 2000 years of viticultural history.
Among its 12 hectares of vineyards, the domaine has impressive holdings in the Grand Cru “Engelberg” site, complemented by parcels in three other vineyards: “Sussenberg”, “Obere Hund” and “Silberberg”. The most important vineyard of the village is the Grand Cru “Engelberg”, a hill rich in limestone that is famed for producing wines of elegance and structure. It has long been revered in the region and there is a mention of the Engelberg site in the main cathedral in Strasbourg, a reference dating to 890 A.D.
“Nef des Folles” translates to “the nave of the mad”—a nave being the central area of a church which houses the congregation. Jean-Marie may well consider himself slightly mad, in his gently self-deprecating way, for such unorthodox experimentation, but this wine makes a wholly compelling plea for his sanity. From the Sussenberg vineyard macerated for twelve days on its skins and aged in a single old foudre, this Riesling is ample yet mineral on the palate, with notes of flint, lemon verbena and toasted almond. It is both palate-coating and vivacious, and its total lack of added sulfur manifests in a palate of great purity and directness.
