Domaine Stirn, Sigolsheim, Alsace
Domaine Stirn is an up and coming producer in Alsace, run by intelligent vigneron and oenologue Fabien Stirn. I’ve already reported extensively on this domaine before, and background information can be found there.
Gen and I went up to Alsace to get a feel for Christmas there — kind of the European equivalent of going to another suburb to ‘see the Christmas lights’. The market at Colmar certainly was a lot more impressive than others I’ve seen, with an emphasis on artisanal products and hand made toys.
Colmar at night
The marché proper
Decorations at Ribeauvillé
The tasting at Stirn was also very Alsacien: long, generous, lots of variety and with a strong emphasis on time and place. We commenced with a Stirn Cremant 2004. The nose had a very prominent autolytic character. The palate was crisp, balanced, quite dry. Fabien asked me if I thought this was too over the top, and I think it is. I prefer the 2003. I wonder what will happen to this in bottle over the next 5 years.
We then moved on to the 2007 Rieslings. First, the Riesling Tradition 2007 which was restrained, precise with lots of freshness and a strong citrus note, almost New World in that regard. This wine was a blend of vineyards from the Sigolsheim valley and around to Türckheim. These vineyards received 80% hail damage and it’s amazing that any wine could even be made. The hail was so large, it even broke posts and trellising! This shows how lucky Fabien is: he is often a source of humour in town because his vineyards are spread right across the neighbouring towns, forcing him to drive his tractor 45 minutes to plough. Those with vineyards only in the Sigolsheim valley, however, will have made almost no wine in 2007.
Next was the young vine Riesling Brand Grand Cru 2007. This was a big step up. The granite soil here adds a lot of weight, complexity and, in particular, minerality. The finish on this wine was extremely long and almost salty it was so minerally. Impressive for a wine made from young vines. Fabien didn’t want to present the old vine Brand yet so I’ll taste it in a few months.
Instead, we looked at the Riesling Brand 2006 Vieilles Vignes. This was a rich wine, very spicy and minerally, extremely long and textured. A little residual sugar balances the acid nicely. Fabien is extremely proud of this wine and his other 2006s because choosing when to pick was so challenging. He had two choices: pick at the same time as everyone else, his neighbours, friends or to pick when his training and experience told him he should, three weeks after everyone else. So conflicted was he that he even went to Brand with a team of 20 pickers and stood there tasting grapes with his father (a vigneron with 60 years experience). Finally, he decided to send the team home and wait. He’s been richly rewarded. Many 2006s are terrible but Fabien’s are a delight.
The Riesling Schlossberg 2006 was just as good, very youthful, more citrusy than the Brand. Both wines need more time in bottle. For comparison, we looked at the Riesling Schlossberg 2007 which was very balanced, linear, extremely young. A Riesling for Chablis lovers. I just loved the structure of this wine. Fabien explained that they suffered another terrible hail storm in 2007, this time on the 24th of August. He lost 90% of his fruit from around Sigolsheim but was again lucky to have vineyards further afield than his neighbours.
We then moved beyond Riesling to look at the Pinot Blanc 2007. This was extremely floral and lifted, a tonne of character. Fabien says that the contributing factor here was the long, slow fermentation process he used for the wine, not allowing it to finish until February 2008! An excellent wine from a grape variety I do not usually like.
The Pinot Gris 2006 was also very interesting with excellent structure. The Pinot Gris Kentzheim 2007 was much more spicy and aromatic with excellent length. Impressive, especially considering that these wines sell from the domaine for around 10 to 12 Australian dollars a bottle. The Pinot Gris 2007 from Ribeauvillé fruit was more complex now, having a small amount of botrytis to give it aroma.
The Pinot Gris Prestige 2007 was richer, riper with more residual sugar (a little over 20g). The longer fermentation again gave this wine more texture than you would expect.
It was time to look at Muscat. Fabien farms mostly Muscat à petits grains (small grape Muscat) where most in Alsace farm Muscat Ottonel, which gives much higher yields. This means his wines are much more concentrated and flavoursome but require more time to show. The Muscat 2005 was singing, a beautiful, elegant nose of rose water, pain d’epices, confit d’orange. The palate was long and, again, very textured.
The weather conditions in 2006 were such that Fabien chose not to release his Muscat.
The Muscat Tradition 2007 shows what Fabien meant by them needing time: this was quite neutral with a hint of lees to it. The 2005 was just like this, at the same time, so no doubt it will be another very good wine.
We were still tasting, and three hours had gone by. I had to drive to Beaune after the tasting! Nevertheless, we pressed on to look at the Pinot Gris Marckrain 2004 which was starting to show nicely, with excellent balance. The Pinot Gris Sonnenglaz 2005 was richer, much more minerally, lots of chalk. This will age a long time also. 2005 in Alsace was much like 2005 elsewhere in France, the wines practically made themselves.
The Gewürztraminer 2006 had a wild nose, very exotic. The balance had very good balance. After the Gewürztraminer Brand 2007, however, the previous wine looked simple. The Brand was very powerful, spicy. Lots of complexity. It will go a long time in bottle. The palate shows almost none of the 38 grams of residual sugar, such is the excellent acidity.
The Gewürztraminer Monberg Vendanges Tardives 2007 looks as though it will be a truly great wine, it is already packed with fruit and has enough acidity to allow it to go 30 years in the cellar.
The Gewürztraminer Sonnenglaz Selection de Grains Nobles 2007 was even better: long, minerally, extremely concentrated and precise. Delicious now but will develop into an amazing wine. For comparison, we looked at the excellent Gewürztraminer Sonnenglaz Selection de Grains Nobles 2001 which is beginning to show some development, but still has so much potential. The 2007 will be better than even it is!
All said, 2007 looks to be a superb year at Stirn.
While in the area, we had time to visit the Haut Koenigsburg castle, which has become my new ultimate destination for a massive weekend of decadence. The atmosphere when we visited was perfect:
