Marcel Deiss

Alsace is one of the most surprising regions of France. One imagines oneself in Germany, not least because of the names of the towns, streets and buildings, but one finds the warmth and relaxation so characteristic of eastern France. The classic, almost Swiss villages, the beautiful historical buildings and castles, the hills and vineyards, it is another world. Especially if you are invited to a winegrower who really does things differently from his colleagues and who puts the terroir above everything else: Domaine Marcel Deiss.

And what better way to get into the mood than by cycling through some of Marcel Deiss' vineyards: Mambourg, Grasberg and Rotenberg. From the outside you can see vineyards and rolling hills, but the difference is underground: the soil composition can vary enormously within a few metres, and this variation is more complex than in Burgundy. And anyone who has been in front of the Montrachet vineyard, for example, knows how quickly soil conditions can change.

When you enter Bergheim, the estate is a must to visit.

History

The Deiss family has been growing grapes in the village of Bergheim, in the heart of Alsace, since 1744. However, the modern history of the winery only really began in 1947, when Marcel Deiss returned from the Second World War and established his own estate.

A decisive turning point came in 1973, when his grandson Jean-Michel Deiss took over the management after completing his studies in oenology. Jean-Michel has transformed this place into one of the most talked-about in Alsace, partly thanks to the quality of the wines, and partly thanks to his often controversial views on what makes Alsatian wines special. Today, he runs the estate alongside his son Matthieu, who has gradually taken on most of the day-to-day work in the cellar.

Vineyards

The estate cultivates around 32 hectares of vineyards spread across nine communes along approximately 20 kilometres of the Alsace Wine Route. The estate includes several Premier Cru and Grand Cru plots, among which are the famous Altenberg de Bergheim, Schoenenbourg and Mambourg. Bergheim itself is situated in the Riboville fault zone, one of the most fragmented geological areas in Europe.

Terroir

The fault zone means a mosaic of soils within a very small area: limestone, marl, sandstone, granite and clay are all found on the estate’s plots. For Jean-Michel, terroir is a holistic concept: soil, exposure, microclimate, as well as how people have worked the land over the centuries. His core philosophy is that the terroir must come first, and the grape variety second. The wines are crafted to express the character of the place from which they originate, rather than the grape variety in the vineyard.

The grapes used

Deiss works with no fewer than 13 historic Alsace grape varieties, including Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, Muscat, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, Sylvaner, Pinot Auxerrois, Pinot Beurot, Chasselas Rose and Traminer. The main difference lies in ‘co-planting’: the joint planting of different grape varieties on a single plot, as well as their joint harvesting and vinification. This is precisely how things were done in Alsace in the old days, before single-varietal vineyards became the norm in the 20th century. Jean-Michel was so passionate about promoting this approach that in 2005 he persuaded the French authorities to change the rules so that Grand Cru wines could be produced from a blend of varieties from a single vineyard.

Winemaking method

The vineyards have been cultivated using organic farming methods for many years, and since 1998 using biodynamic farming methods, as confirmed by Ecocert and Demeter certification. Yields are kept low. In the cellar, minimal intervention is practised: whole-bunch pressing, fermentation using indigenous yeasts, slow fermentation, often in wooden vessels, extended ageing on the lees, and bottling without fining or filtration.

Wines

The wines are divided into three ranges. Vins de Fruits are entry-level wines made from a single grape variety. Vins de Terroirs are blends from vineyards with specific appellations at the Village, Premier Cru and Grand Cru levels, with the flagship wines being Altenberg de Bergheim, Schoenenbourg and Mambourg. Vins de Temps comprises late-harvest wines, Vendange Tardive and rare sweet Sélection de Grains Nobles. Total annual production amounts to around 10,000 cases.

A tasting at Marcel Deiss

We were warmly welcomed by Marie-Helene Deiss, who immediately introduced us to the vineyards, their location and the general philosophy. And then the tasting started right away, the best choice: here we talk about the soil, the location, the terroir. As Marie-Helene herself described it: "a grape variety is like paper: it says nothing. So what you write on it is what matters".

A mixture of grape varieties grows on each plot, as in the past. In this way, the varieties compete with each other, which leads to an improvement in the quality of the individual grapes. The Marcel Deiss Estate stimulates the vines to take root deep enough to make the most of the terroir. We therefore try to get the character of the soil into the grapes, so that each wine is an expression of its origin.

During our tasting, the location of the vineyard was indicated for each wine and real pieces of soil were used to illustrate the soil conditions. Each wine was clearly different, even though the wines had exactly the same grape variety composition. This was the case for Engelgarten and Rotenberg, which we tasted side by side in 2 glasses. The plots were right next to each other. Engelgarten is located on an old river bed with pebbles and gravel, Rotenberg is an old Jurrassic soil (oolitic limestone). Both wines were completely different, but each with its own specific touch. And when we asked what grapes the wine was made of, Marie-Hélène looked at us quizzically: "But that doesn't matter at all, does it? It turned out to be a combination of Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Beurot, Muscat and Pinot Noir.

The tasting was a journey of discovery of the terroir and showed what Alsace and the different grape varieties can produce in terms of quality. The Grand Cru Schoenenbourg was briefly compared by Marie-Hélène to Romanee Conti. A popular wine in Europe since the 12th century because of its excellent conservation due to the composition of the soil. Schoenenbourg wines can become very old. A winemaker must consciously choose to make this wine. Unfortunately, according to Marie-Hélène, this happens too little, so that Schoenenbourg no longer has the appeal of the past, but the potential remains unchanged. And we were able to taste it afterwards, alongside the Grand Cru Altenberg and the Mambourg. What fantastic wines.

We tasted 18 wines that afternoon and came to the conclusion that we should have visited Marcel Deiss much earlier. The philosophy of winemaking, the intention with which the wines are made, the quality and certainly the value for money, all appeal to us. And to come back to the importance of the grape varieties and to want to do things differently: Domaine Marcel Deiss managed to get rid of the obligation to indicate the grape variety on the label a few years ago. Indeed, here we do things differently.