2020 Domaine Gross Mittelweg Muscat

Region: Alsace < France
Grape: Muscat
Vineyard/Cellar Stats: Biodynamic farming; clay/limestone soils; whole cluster 25-day fermentation on the skins then the wine is pressed off the skins and raised in foudres for 8 months; bottled unfined/unfiltered with zero added SO2; zero-zero; 11.5% ABV
Winemaker: Rémy and Vincent Gross

• Biodynamic family estate in France's northern Alsace region
• They only make skin-contact or sparkling wines from local varietals
• No added SO2, ever
• Smells like a tropical storm, but the palate is bone-dry
• Nectarines and mango balanced by herbal honey, white pepper and a grassy/hay note

More about Domaine Gross
In the heart of Alsace, a few kilometers from Colmar, the Domaine Gross is a family wine estate led in biodynamic culture. In the early 1980s, Rémy Gross took over from his parents at the estate, founded by his grandfather Louis Gross, a blacksmith by trade, then counting 2.5 hectares of vines. In a family spirit and a constant concern for respect for traditions, Rémy and Vincent, today cultivate a 10 hectare biodynamic vineyard and vinify the entire harvest. For this, the care given to the vine is done manually because the human hand allows delicacy in each gesture. The use of plants (nettles, horsetails ...) strengthens the action of sulfur and copper during treatments; biodynamic preparations (MT compost, 500, 501) enhance the soil and improve the development of the vine throughout the season. A short pruning in winter allows to reduce the load per foot and thus obtain very aromatic wines. Finally, it is essential for us to understand the nature of the soils forming the terroir and the development of these soils involves plowing which improves and preserves microbial activity. Over the last four vintages, we have become more and more involved in the production of wines, without any input or sulphite. Our process is simple : applying the vinification technique of red wines (maceration) on all Alsatian grape varieties. This ancestral method allows us to make wines without any input or sulfite; aging is more or less long, between 6 and 12 months depending on the vintage, in our oak casks as well as in stainless steel barrels. At the end of August, the wines are bottled by us, then housed in our cellars, a few months at least, or even several years for the higher-end wines.