2020 Dm Schlumberger Riesling Grand Cru Kessler, Alsace

The 2020 Riesling Grand Cru Kessler opens with a clear, lemon-scented and finely earthy bouquet representing the more clayey terroir of the cooler, gently sloping, sandstone-driven Kessler site that faces southeast. The wine is elegant and charming on the palate, with rather smooth acidity yet a certain tannic grip that is slightly drying on the finish. 12.5% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted in March 2024.

Séverine Schlumberger traveled from Guebwiller in Alsace to the north of Germany to present a new Riesling from Domaines Schlumberger that had not yet gone on sale: the Clos Saint-Léger Grand Cru Monopole. Connoisseurs will immediately notice that there is no Alsace Grand Cru with this name. And monopole vineyards are also excluded from grand cru status in Alsace. In fact, the new wine comes from the Grand Cru Kitterlé but only indicates this on the back label. And the designation "Monopole" only refers to the family-owned 1.6-hectare parcel in the Grand Cru Kitterlé, which Schlumberger chose a few years ago to produce a special Riesling. "This plot has always delivered the finest results," says Séverine. It ranges up to 360 meters above sea level and is based on very acidic soils that Schlumberger describes as volcanic sandstone. The young shoots of the Clos are not cut but curled into the wires. Yields are kept extremely low (10-20 hectoliters per hectare), and the harvest is done manually into 22-kilogram boxes; and the free run must is fermented in stainless steel tanks, whereas the regular grand crus ferment in traditional oak vats. The wine is kept on the lees for 18 months and for several years in the bottle before release.

As the selected plot had no historical name, it was named after the church in Guebwiller, and a circular sculpture was installed in it that could be seen from afar; the 2017 premiere vintage has just started to be marketed in March 2024. The price of $300 USD (or 250 euros) is extremely proud and on the level of the most famous Riesling in Alsace, Trimbach's Clos Sainte Hune. However, this has been produced for more than 100 years and has earned its worldwide reputation through countless awards. Schlumberger's Clos Saint-Léger has yet to earn this reputation—and, at this price, it is best to do so straight away. The domaine has not yet succeeded in doing so with the "normal" Grand Cru Kitterlé from the parcels surrounding the new Clos. But the supposedly "smaller" Grand Cru only costs a fraction of the price. Will the almost eight times higher price of the Clos Saint-Léger make this Riesling a coveted superstar? Although the production is limited to a maximum of 1,400 to 2,000 bottles, and only 300 bottles will be send into the US, I have my doubts about that. But what is not, may yet become.

I took the chance and tasted not only the first five vintages of the new Clos but also the corresponding regular Grand Cru Kitterlé as well as the Grand Cru Kessler Rieslings to have a comparison. The result? The Kitterlé is a superb vineyard, and given the price of the regular wine, the new Clos isn't my first choice by now. The general wine quality has improved anyway here remarkably well since the 2018 vintage.

90 points Stephan Reinhardt robertparker.com

A strongly mineral character and powerful aromas, lots of length and charm.

Domaines Schlumberger, located in Guebwiller Alsace, has been family-owned since 1810. Members of the 6th and 7th generations run the company today. It is the largest Grand Cru vineyard holder in the Alsace region with 70 hectares of the classic Alsace varieties of Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer in the Grand Crus of Saering, Kitterle, Kessler and Spiegel, representing more than half the total Domaine plantings.