Twice now, I have had a bottle of Gewurztraminer from Andre Durmann. Both times it's got me giddy. If there is one grape I dislike the most in wine, it's Gewurz. I LIKE the grape, I just don't like the style in which is made into--often times overripe, fat, sweet, cloying, too much spicy potpourri aromas, and no acid. Gewurz wants to get really ripe on the vine, and as it does, the acidity in the grape drops off quicker than any other grape. This is where those big, blousy styles come in to play. It becomes a major turnoff after you've smelled it for years and years--like walking into a Yankee candle shop in the mall. But, many people enjoy it this, which is why this style till exists. That being said, a lot of winemakers and wine drinkers feel this way about the grape, which is why the style with many has shifted towards restraint nowadays--earlier harvests to subdue all those overbearing aromas and sugars and to preserve acidity. Alsace has always excelled at balanced Gewurztraminer, but some more than others.
Now take that restrained style, and let the Durmann family have at it. WOW. Mint, herbs, white peach, tangerine peels, even a little strawberry bubble gum on the nose. A super cloudy wine, totally RAW, unfined, unfiltered, ripe but weightless, wrapped up in this completely mouthwatering acidity. It's just an explosion of aromas, flavors and textures. Tantalizing on the nose and on the palate. |
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We had not heard of Durmann until a small importer friend of ours started importing them and showed us a sample. The wines have really never been imported. They have been around for decades, mostly staying under the radar and selling locally around France. They are in a small farmhouse, located on in the hills of the Vosges Mountains in Alsace, France. They farm a tiny 7.5 hectares, spread around 30 different plots of vines throughout their village. They've been farming organically since the 90s, and have always been "hands-off" in both the vineyard and the cellar. Andre's son, Yann, who has been working in the cellar since he was very young, recently took over and has been slowly moving the wines towards an even more hands-off approach in the cellar, with more ambient fermentations and low sulfur use, fermenting in a mix of concrete and old wooden casks. Since this rebirth, the wines have become DYNAMIC. Their ability to keep the wines natural, coaxing out all of the wonderful things about natural wine we love, while keeping the funk away, shows their experience with minimal intervention winemaking.
We are offering up all of Durmann wines today, but with a focus on the "Zegwur" Gewurztraminer (pictured above). We have purchased everything we can now, but there is more coming to us at the end of August, should we need it. Also of note, is Durmann's Cremant d'Alsace-- a natural sparkling blend of Pinot Blanc and Riesling, which was also out of this world. This wine will arrive at the end of August. We also have a small amount of a wine Yann's father made, a 1996 Riesling, aged in the cellar since release!
All wines arrive Friday, except for the Cremant, which arrives end of August. Quantities are tiny!
To order, please check out online here. As always, you can respond to this email with questions.
Mix & match for a discount of 10% off 6 bottles, 15% off 12 bottles automatically applied at checkout.
1) Durrmann Vin d'Alsace Gewurtztraminer "Zegwur" Cuvee Nature 2019
Sale Price $29.99/btl! Buy Now
WOW. Mint, herbs, white peach, tangerine peels, even a little strawberry bubble gum on the nose. A super cloudy wine, totally RAW, unfined, unfiltered, ripe but weightless, wrapped up in this completely mouthwatering acidity. It's just an explosion of aromas, flavors and textures. Tantalizing on the nose and on the palate. Zegwur is an anagram of Gewurz. Yann named it so as it is an atypical style of wine for this grape in Alsace. Gewürztraminer is almost always associated with the Terpenes that emphasize the rose-petal aromatics of the grape. For the Zegwur, the Gewürztraminer grapes are gently and slowly pressed over an 8 hour period. While it is not a skin contact wine, it has the tactile quality of one. Following this slow fermentation with native yeasts in stainless steel, the wine sees four months on its full lees in stainless steel tanks. The wine is lightly racked once, the day before bottling. The resulting wine is remarkable - a lovely (not dominating) floral nose is followed by a tactile, saline, and textured palate. This is bone-dry.
2) Durrmann Cremant d'Alsace Brut Cuvee Nature 2018 (PRE-ORDER, DUE IN 8/31)
Sale Price $29.99/btl! Buy Now
50% Pinot Blanc, 20% Riesling, and 30% Pinot Gris. The grapes are hand-picked and go through a natural fermentation with native yeasts in stainless steel tanks. The wine was then aged on its lees for one year in tank and then one more in bottle after a second fermentation. The second fermentation is started with the addition of more of its own juice. Thanks to that, the aromas are riper than some other Crémants, but the freshness is retained from the Riesling and tension from the Pinot Blanc grown on schist. Crisp, bright, bone dry. This is a complex wine, yet it is irrefutably delicious. Crémant wines are made the exact same way as Champagne, just outside of the Champagne region. This is analogous to the Blanc de Blancs style.
3) Durrmann Pinot Gris Medium Dry 2018
Sale Price $25.99/btl! Buy Now
100% Pinot Gris. The grapes are crushed, and fermentation takes place in stainless steel. A bit of sulphur is added during the process to stop fermentation and leave residual sugar (RS) in the wine. The wine is also filtered using bentonite to stabilize and keep a touch of RS. This is an off-dry wine with notes of ripe peach, apple pie, and jasmine. Pinot Gris is traditionally made into a slightly sweeter style in Alsace, so this is not similar to the same grape produced in Italy or the New World. Not too sweet, but definitely enough sugar to add both weight and deliciousness. This is a classic style of Pinot Gris for Alsace. While some producers make dry styles, those are more atypical and usually reserved for Grand Cru wines. Alc: 12.5 | RS: 20 g/L.
4) Durrmann Riesling Dry Rebbuehl sur Granit 2018
Sale Price $25.99/btl! Buy Now
100% Riesling, vinified dry, from a plot of vines next to the Grand Cru Kastelberg. This plot of vines is planted on Granit and is bottled as such to show the terroir of this plot. Aromas of honey, petrol, lime zest, candied orange peel, sweet apple cider and an intense chalky minerality. Crisp, high acid, with round fullness in the mouth. Great wine, biodynamic with natural yeast.
5) Durrmann Pinot Noir Rebberg sur Schistes 2018
Sale Price $32.99/btl! Buy Now
100% Pinot Noir fermented spontaneously in stainless steel and macerated on the skins for a total of 4 weeks. The wine is then racked off the skins into a stainless steel tank and aged for just 4 months. The wine is racked one more time the day before bottling. This is a crisp, rocky style of Pinot Noir with lively acidity and a lean red fruit profile. Even though Alsace is a warm and sunny region, the wine is much leaner than the Pinot Noirs produced in the US, Australia, and New Zealand. The wine is not heavily filtered, so it appears a bit cloudy and darker in hue. This is one of the few places in the world where Pinot Noir is grown on schist.
6) Durrmann Riesling Wiebelsberg Grand Cru 2008
Sale Price $47.99/btl! Buy Now
The Wiebelsberg terroir is made up of pink sandstone, and produces fine and ethereal wines. It give also to the wines a bit of bitterness similar to the taste of citrus skin. The name Wiebelsberg means “the hill of the ladies” as the village of Andlau was founded by an abbey of nuns in the 9th century. This abbey was only accessible to women from the aristocracy/nobility. The slopes of the hill were cultivated by the nuns of the abbey for centuries. The playful ladies hat atop the hill is an homage to the “Wiebel” that maintained the land for generations. The 2008 Wiebelsberg was produced by Yann’s father, André Durrmann, in what was Yann’s first official year working in the winery. The wine was made in the classic style, via controlled winemaking with the addition of SO2 after racking and before bottling. The wine was aged in large neutral oak barrels for one year and has been in bottle ever since. The wine has 15g of residual sugar and is about 12% alcohol. Golden green hints with lovely aromatic of honey, nuts and mushrooms. The wine tastes dry despite the 15 grams of RS. This is a remarkable and perfectly developed Riesling.
7) Durrmann Riesling Dry Kastelberg Grand Cru 1996
Sale Price $59.99/btl! Buy Now
A very steep rocky hill dominates Andlau's valley. The stone of this hill is a unique type of dense schist that was heated and compressed by the nearby granite. This stone is so hard that is was called “Hornfels” by geologists. This terroir produces full bodied, mineral-driven wines with incredible aging potential. The name means “the hill in terraces:” to cultivate this rocky and steep hill, past generations built walls to make terraces. Terraces are called “kastle” in the local dialect and hill is “bari” or “berg”, hence the explanation of the name, Kastelbari or Kastelberg. The 1996 Kastelberg or Kastelbari Riesling (almost 25 years old now!) was produced by Yann's father, André Durrmann in the classic style, via controlled winemaking with the addition of SO2 after racking and before bottling. The wine was aged in large neutral oak barrels for one year and has been in bottle ever since. Rich, smoky, powerful; the wine has a profile similar to classic Alsatian Grand Cru Rieslings. Honeyed lemon, and green apple notes wrap around candied ginger and honeycomb spice notes, but the dominant flavor is the petrol/wet rock minerality from the wine. This is a remarkable Alsace Riesling with nearly a quarter century of development.
To order, please check out online here. As always, you can respond to this email with questions. |
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