Riesling over £10

And the winner is...

Dopff-au-Moulin, Riesling de Riquewihr Grand

Cru Schoenenbourg, Alsace, France 2008 (12.5%)

Wonderfully fresh apple and pear fruit, with a citrus

and mineral complexity. Rich, imposing, full-bodied,

textured, quite firm and astringent – will be even

better after a year or two’s maturation..

UK: £22.49; HaL, WdW

A keenly contested Trophy featuring a stellar line-up. Peter Lehmann’s Wigan Riesling was up for the grand prize for the second year in succession. But, also for the second year in a row, Alsace takes the award. The steep, south- and southeast-facing Schoenenbourg, or ‘beautiful hill’, climbs from 265m to 380m above the cobbled streets of Riquewihr. The soil’s physical properties here, together with the hill’s sun-blessed aspect, counter the coldness of Schoenenbourg’s marly-clay make up, lengthening véraison (the onset ofripening) by just enough to achieve greatness. The effect of this and the soil’s alkalinity on Riesling’s naturally late-ripening regime results in a fine, ripe acidity. The grapes for this Trophy yielded a wine of just 12.7% alcohol with less than five grams per litre of residual sugar. Proof that Alsace Riesling doesn’t have to be sweet.

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