Suckling 95 – top Schaal ever:
Very complex, flinty nose with notes of smoke and lemon blossom. Concentrated and enormously energetic, this feels lighter than it is, because the body is so sleek and focused, everything pulling together to a single point at the very long and diamond-bright finish! Drink or hold.
Jancis Robinson rates this one of Schaal’s greatest, too:
Blue schist, unique in Alsace. This rock has been metamorphosed by granite, outcropping on the upper part of the site, into very hard, dark-coloured hornfels, made up of quartz, mica and chlorite. The soil is hence very stony and well-drained. Vines are 50 years old and this terraced vineyard is on the northern outskirts of the town of Andlau. The Kastelberg extends over a small hillock, its steep slopes exposed to the south, at an elevation from 240 to 300 metres. First planted with vines during the Roman occupation, the Kastelberg of Andlau is one of the oldest vineyard sites in Alsace. A document dating from as early as 1064 mentions its fine wines. Low yields and long-lived wines.
A quite stunning floral bouquet welcomes the taster, followed by high-toned steeliness. Crystalline acidity but quite enough fruit to carry it and a bone-dry finish. I'm tasting this to decide which Schaal Alsace wine to include in a Riesling tasting at next July's MW Symposium in Germany. This is still a little young, even slightly austere, but should show beautifully then.
