Domaine Zinck Riesling Grand Cru Eichberg 2016 Alsace, France 75cl

Domaine Zinck is a family estate near Eguisheim, in the heart of Alsace. It was founded in 1964 by Paul Zinck and is run today by his son Philippe, who farms the vineyards organically and has steadily moved the estate towards more natural, terroir-driven winemaking across its patchwork of sites.

Eichberg is one of Alsace’s fifty-one Grands Crus, a warm, well-exposed slope on clay and limestone soils above Eguisheim. It is a terroir long prized for structured, mineral wines, and Riesling is one of the grapes that expresses it best, translating the stony ground into precision and length.

The 2016 vintage in Alsace is widely regarded as a fine, classical year, giving Rieslings with ripe fruit balanced by clean, cutting acidity, the combination that lets these wines age so well.

This is a dry Riesling in the Alsace manner. Look for lime, fresh citrus and white blossom over a distinct wet-stone minerality, with a taut, racy line of acidity carrying a long, dry finish and a faint saline note at the end. It is delicious now, well chilled, but has the concentration and balance to develop over several years in the cellar. Try it with river trout, sushi and sashimi, roast chicken, choucroute or a plate of ripe Munster.

Grand Cru Riesling is Alsace at its most serious and food-friendly, a style that repays a little attention. If you enjoy fine, dry, mineral whites, whether from the Mosel, the Loire or Chablis, this Eichberg bottling is a rewarding and well-priced step into the region’s top tier.