“Racy” is one of the best wine words—especially when applied to Riesling, which captures every shade of its meaning. Of course Riesling is “sprightly; piquant; pungent” but it’s also “slightly improper” and a little “risqué.” It’s unorthodox and challenging and seductive, capable of not only transmitting a concrete sense of terroir but going off on flights of fancy unmatched by any other white grape.
Maybe this whimsical description is too much to live up to, but Dirler-Cadé’s biodynamically farmed dry Riesling from the Alsace Grand Cru “Saering” takes a serious crack at it. Now with a touch of bottle age, this 2012 has begun to fill out and flower, supplementing its raciness with an undercurrent of honeyed richness and mineral intensity while being nearly bone dry. Somehow, for an old school Alsatian vintner like Dirler-Cadé, it’s possible to offer all this at a reasonable price. As someone who has been to Alsace numerous times, these wines can get really pricy when they are this good, but not today. This is a textbook bottle of Grand Cru Riesling and a sterling example of the value-for-dollar that can be found if you look hard enough.
Tucked in France’s northeastern corner, with the dramatic Vosges Mountains walling it off to the west and the Rhine River marking the eastern border with Germany, Alsace is somewhat easy to overlook—but once you’ve experienced it, either in person or via one of its great wines, it’s unforgettable. The small hillside towns feel like a fairytale land for food and wine lovers. Meticulously mapped out by generations of vignerons and filled with a patchwork of soils, it is as important a Riesling terroir as anything in Germany, with perhaps an even greater diversity of expressions of the grape. And, as in Germany, the winemaking history here is incredible.
The “Saering” vineyard, which is at the southern end of the Alsace region (known as the ‘Haut-Rhin,’ or ‘Upper Rhine’), has been a winemaking entity since the 13th century. It sits at about 300 meters elevation with an east/southeast aspect, making it a touch cooler than many neighboring Grand Crus with more full-south exposures. The soil composition of the site is Vosges sandstone pebbles mixed with limestone and clay. This has long been prized as a Riesling site, a place where the late-ripening variety gets even more hang time on its way to maximum physiological ripeness and complexity.
The Dirler family has been growing vines in the area around the village of Bergholtz since the 1870s, and not a lot has changed since then: they farm their 44 hectares of vines biodynamically,
plowing the steep-pitched sites with a horse and extending their biodynamic practices to the cellar. The family’s holdings grew to their current size—and their brand name became hyphenated—when Jean Dirler married Ludivine Cadé in 1998. She brought a number of choice vineyard parcels to the mix, and in that same year the couple began the estate’s transition to biodynamic farming. Because they use only natural yeasts in the cellar, there are some years when wines will ferment completely dry, others when some residual sugar is left over—they don’t intervene, and they age their wines in old, used foudres, the same kind of large barrels used generations ago.
This 2012 “Saering” contains 5 grams/liter of residual sugar, which isn’t enough to impart any serious sweetness (just a kiss, which works perfectly). In the glass it’s a deep yellow-gold, having taken on a bit of color with bottle age, and like all the best naturally farmed wines, it feels alive: the aromatics are penetrating and almost dizzyingly varied, with notes of quince, white peach skin, nectarine, honeysuckle, lime blossom, white cherries, fennel, smoky flint, and that creeping ‘petrol’ note that comes with all Riesling after enough time in bottle. The acid is still laser-like, while perfectly balanced; that 5 grams of sugar ends up acting like a light bulb turning on your tastebuds. This structural component of acid and sugar is part of what makes Riesling so loved and craved. And while there’s power here, it shouldn’t be confused with some of the richer, more voluptuous, sweet-leaning Rieslings from some other Alsace Grand Crus. This remains focused and firmly structured, with a good 5-10 years of aging ahead of it (at least). While it isn’t necessary, decanting this exotic beauty about 30 minutes before service will expand its bouquet; serve it at around 50 degrees in large-capacity white wine glasses or flared Riesling stems. As pretty as the wine is, it’s also gutsy—gutsy enough to take on Alsatian dishes like
choucroute garnie, one of the all-time greatest pairings with dry Rieslings like this. Having recently had a chance to eat at NYC’s retro-fancy French gem Le Coucou, I’m in a saucy, ‘continental’ kind of mood; for a different take try this 2012 Saering with this decadent Daniel Boulud recipe for
fish quenelles. The textural contrast and complementary spices in the dish will be absolutely perfect. Enjoy!
