2010 Alsace

Mirroring the dark granitic rocks peering down on the village on Kayserberg, the Faller family's famous vineyard Schlossberg is underpinned by granite soils, bringing a real sense of stature and poise to the wine. Naturally more concentrated than previous years due to the loss of up to 40% of fruit at flowering, this is the Faller's flagship Riesling, topped only by 'L'Inedit'. It speaks of a family whose whole being is bound up with the symbiosis between the granite rocks and Riesling. Given the small but high quality fruit, this is a dry wine that would benefit from a decade's ageing in a dark cellar, so drinking at its best from 2018/20 till 2030 say.
(David Berry Green, Berrys' Alsace Buyer)

Selection des Grains Nobles are rare due to a bunch by bunch harvest selection and minimum sugar levels. This is one step up from Vendange Tardive and offers one richness, concentration and gloriously sweet fruit flavours. Full bodied, hugely mouth-filling and thick with outstanding, complex ripe fruits and maple syrup characteristics.
Laura Atkinson-Godwin, Private Account Manager


Clos Jebsal is a single vineyard in Turkheim (1.3 ha), Alsace. The first written reference of Jebsal dates back to a deed of sale from the 16th century. Located on a steep escarpment, it was left abandoned until 1982 when Leonard Humbrecht finally managed to reunite all the small parcels and restore the lieu-dit to its entirety. The name Jebsal refers to gypsum, the important geological component of this vineyard alongside a geological fault of grey marl limestone and Keuper, rich in clay. The small clos is very steep (50%) with numerous terraces facing due south which benefits from a very warm microclimate, hidden and protected from the northerly winds. The grey marl soils have good water retention capacity which prevents hydric stress, yielding wines with beautiful balanced acidities.

Wines from Clos Jebsal are discreet in their youth, often marked with flinty or smoky aromas. The expression of fruit linked to the concentration by botrytis is coaxed out with some time in bottle, a minimum of ten years is recommended to allow for the development of the true expression of Clos Jebsal.