Rolly Gassmann is located in Rorschwihr, a sleepy village on the northern rim of Haut-Rhin. Louis and Marie-Thérèse have no wines from Grand Cru sites, but from a set of very good lieux-dits such as Silberberg, Muenchreben and Rotleibel. The vineyards are located in Rorschwihr, the neighbouring Rodern and Bergheim, and exhibit large geological differences.

Rolly Gassmann has a unique style. Each wine is a small masterpiece with very good definition and a certain shameless, velvety texture. The fruit is honeyed but balanced with a precise acidity which defies its age. Rotleibel has a heavier, heat-retentive red marl soil, perfect for late-season harvesting.

Andre Ostertag is one of Alsace's most innovative and exciting young winemakers. 100% biodynamic, his wines seek to represent the ultimate expression of the grape and the terroir. On the nose this wine has apricot and pear aromas with a hint of spice. The palate reveals a core of stone fruit and a good level of acidity, balanced by the richness and complexity that comes from time in oak barrels.

Rubbing shoulders with Heimbourg  and overlooking Turckheim, this small but steep, west/northwest- facing, red calcareous vineyard tends to give fruit blessed with fine acidity. This was particularly welcome in the super ripe 2005 vintage, when the tiny, berry by berry, 8hl/ha harvest was especially late and strung-out, giving 280 grams of residual sugar and only eight percent alcohol.

Consequently the wine's disarmingly succulent, toast, honey, barley sugar and peach flavours are perfectly balanced by an extra gear of freshness and mouth-watering acidity. This is decadent and delicate all in one.

Drawing on fruit from both the (red-earth) Rotleibel and the fossilised limestone clay bed of the Pflaenzerreben, there's a sublime citronelle perfume, an energy that recalls the latter site, that speaks volumes for the quality of the Rorschwihr terroir. It's deliciously fine and agile. The 119 grams of residual sugar are balanced out by 5.7 of acidity, the smooth fruit so suave, a warm flow, yet finishes with pretty coquilles acidity and zip. Great. Medium-dry.
David Berry Green

Being of the Pinot family, hence of Burgundian extraction, André chooses to vinify his wines in wood: in this case the Pinot Gris grown in the Muenchberg cauldron. More expression than brother Riesling, and certainly less severe, sister Gris shows spirited grosseilles, white currants, with that telltale minerally and fluidity that echoes that of Puligny-Montrachet. Soft, persistent, elegant, and dry, all you expect from a great Grand Cru vineyard, it runs like a river in spate. Sensational but worth waiting till 2015 if you can before breaching.
(David Berry Green, Berrys' Alsace Buyer)

This wine is already quite showy, probably due to the intensity and quality of the noble rot associated to the exotic character of the 2009 vintage; it is possible to see wonderful honeyed, cocoa, green tea and dried candied fruit flavours. The palate is ample and rich and develops a sweet, round, unctuous finish. It is a very concentrated wine but remains elegant and racy. It will also improve for many years if well kept...

Lovely aromas of white stone fruit, peach, pear and apple blossom hits the nose. The palate is rich and concentrated on the medium plus bodied side. The quality of this wine can be seen on the textural quality of the palate, with a lovely density and viscosity, Poire William in the foreground with a tension, brightness and vibrancy that lasts throughout the spicy minute long length. A very expressive and serious Pinot Gris, one that can drink from 2019 – 2030+.
Stuart Rae, Private Account Manager

With the customer in mind, Hugel have redesigned their range to reflect the different levels of quality in very simple and International terms.
Hugel first and foremost is an advocate of the dry style of Alsace wine. Hugel wines are tight, structured, mineral and dry – unless they’re sweet.

The “Grossi Laüe" range is made from their top Grand Crus vineyards (Riesling from the Schoenenbourg and Gewurztraminer from the Sporen).
Finally, the crème de la crème “Schoelhammer” which is on par with the great Trimbach Clos St Hune. The tiny production of this single vineyard called “Schoelhammer” is proudly sitting at the top of the their range, made from only 30 rows of vines and with a mere 4288 bottle production.