The moment it hits your palate, this fascinating blend from the great Domaine Schoech seems to atomize across the entire flavor and aromatic spectrum. Every sip electrifies your senses and floods your brain’s pleasure center. It’s not just a wine, it’s a legitimate experience, thanks not just to its vineyard provenance but its significant bottle age. Just 80 or so cases are produced IN TOTAL in any given vintage, so we’re extremely lucky to have any at all to share today. If you want to intimately understand the words “Grand Cru” as defined in Alsace, this is the bottle!

[*NOTE: This wine is arriving from New York and will be shipping from our warehouse the week of February 25th.]

The story of Schoech’s “Harmonie R” is well-summarized by renowned English wine writer Andrew Jeffords of Decanter magazine: “If I was asked to nominate any vineyard anywhere in the world as producing ‘the ultimate terroir wine,’ Rangen de Thann would be it.” For myriad reasons, it’s a hard-to-dispute assertion and I’ve been trying to find the perfect example of Rangen de Thann to feature on SommSelect. Unfortunately, the top wines produced from this ancient Grand Cru are brutally expensive ($100 for a 375-milliliter half bottle of Pinot Gris from Domaine Zind-Humbrecht), extremely limited, and demand significant cellar age before reaching their prime. In other words: “Good luck!” So, I’d almost given up hope when I was miraculously offered a small allocation of today’s monumental 2009 from Domaine Schoech. It’s an appropriately epic—and dry—expression of Rangen de Thann’s inimitable terroir. It’s also one of the vineyard’s rarest wines, with a meager 80 case-per-year production volume. Infused with deep, volcanic minerality and bursting at the seams with luscious fruit, it’s a world-class white that belongs in any sommelier’s Alsace “hall of fame.” Best of all, with 9+ years under its belt, this bottle is absolutely screaming into its prime drinking window. 

We could dedicate multiple pages to detailing the numerous characteristics that make Rangen de Thann one of France’s most bewildering Grand Crus, but here are the key points: Rangen de Thann Grand Cru has been continually producing wine since the 1200s, and at 1,400+ feet, it is  the highest-elevation Grand Cru in Alsace, a good 40% higher than other top sites in the region. With a 95% incline, it is also the steepest Grand Cru in the region, making it not only impossible to farm mechanically but extremely difficult to farm at all! The soil of Rangen, meanwhile, is primarily stone of volcanic origin (which makes it—you guessed it—the only volcanic Grand Cru in Alsace). This is a singular site that produces singularly majestic wines.

In terms of character, the wines of Rangen are revered for their immense power and concentration, derived from the site’s southern location and south-facing orientation. There’s also incredible minerality, structure, and freshness from its elevation, slope and difficult soils. Olivier Humbrecht, Alsace icon and the region’s first Master of Wine (and one of the two largest landholders in Rangen de Thann), says: “You cannot exploit a vineyard as difficult as Rangen and make generic wine,” and marvels at how this hillside’s wines are reliably “powerful” and possessing “a fine, salty acidity that will never be sharp.” I personally identify the finest examples of this Grand Cru by the subtle flinty/volcanic aromatic note that is unlike anything else in Alsace. Altogether, it’s a complex and enthralling experience and I’ve encountered few Rangen examples finer than today’s 2009 “Harmonie R.”  

The Schoech family lives one hour north in Ammerschwihr, but in 2001 they jumped at the opportunity to acquire the minuscule (.15-hectare) parcel of Rangen de Thann Grand Cru that produces today’s wine. The Schoech’s narrow slice of rows sits at the very top of Rangen and is composed primarily of Pinot Gris and Riesling, with a small amount of Gewurztraminer. All fruit is harvested and pressed together and this sacred trinity of Alsace white varieties makes for a true “terroir wine.” Every aspect of Rangen de Thann’s soil character is allowed to shine. It’s all here: The opulence of Grand Cru Pinot Gris; the intensity and aromatic complexity of Riesling; and the mega-pixelated spice of top-tier Gewürztraminer. Still, appellation law stipulates that a wine must be ‘monovarietal’ to bear Rangen’s name and Grand Cru designation on the label, so, rather than pull up their Riesling and Gewürztraminer vines and damage this exceptional wine, the Schoech family instead labels the wine “Harmonie R”...and charges far less than similar quality whites from further down the slope. It's a win-win for everyone.

Today’s 2009 Domaine Schoech “Harmonie R” is a high-definition, 3-D, surround-sound Grand Cru Alsace white. It’s as if the entire continuum of flavors and aromas that define this region have been distilled into one bottle. Luxurious fruit, exotic truffle, dried spices, and warm honey notes veil a deep, immense mineral core that gives this wine an almost Corton-Charlemagne-like presence. The unrestrained power and majesty is undeniable. After an hour of exposure to oxygen, fruit evolves into to ginger and saffron, spices and truffles melt into the telltale smoky notes of Rangen’s volcanic terroir, and the wine’s palate becomes almost entirely mineral and savory. If you can spare a few hours alone with this bottle, I promise it’s a thrill ride!  Please serve in large Burgundy stems at 60 degrees. This wine would be a dream companion to a broad variety of classic dishes, but try it with veal in cream sauce. If you’ve had a long week, don’t hesitate to put your feet up and let the wine do all the work. It would be no less riveting when paired next to Thai takeout, white pizza, or fried chicken. The world’s greatest wines—especially those from Alsace—deliver the goods regardless of the context. This is definitely one of those wines and you should not miss it!