Pinot Gris d'Alsace
Pinot Gris, formerly Tokay, can produce heady, full-bodied wines full of nobility. It can replace a red wine on meat dishes.
Formerly known as Tokay, this grape variety is experiencing a spectacular expansion. The Pinot Gris are heady and full-bodied wines, with a majestic match with foie gras. It will intensify your richest and smoothest cuisines.
Its origin
According to a legend, the Pinot Gris grape variety comes from the city of Tokay in Hungary. Vines would have been imported in 1565 by the general Lazare de Schwendi. As a landowner in Alsace, he would have ordered to multiply these plants on the hillsides of Kientzheim (where the Confrérie Saint Etienne still owns its property today). His aim was to reproduce the "Hungarian tokaji", a sweet wine from Hungary.
Being only a legend, the Pinot Gris would then come from Burgundy and was called Grauer Tokayer. Called for a long time by its translation of Grauer Tokayer: Tokay Gris, Tokay d'Alsace or Tokay Pinot Gris, it is in 2007 that it was finally named Pinot Gris. This grape variety is known to produce very concentrated wines.
Representing 15% of the Alsatian vineyard, Pinot Gris often has a generous body with moderate acidity and amazing smoky and woody aromas. It offers such a wide range of aromas that it can be enjoyed as an aperitif as well as during a meal. Like Gewurztraminer, over-ripening gives it a sumptuous dimension: it is then called Vendanges Tardives or Sélection de Grains Nobles (noble rot from Botrytis).
What to pair the Pinot Gris d'Alsace with ?
Pinot Gris will go well with exotic and spicy dishes (fish cooked in a spicy sauce), but also with sweet and sour dishes: apricot/foie gras brochette, mango/foie gras tatin, roasted apricots. It will suit white meats and poultry, skimmed sauce, salmon soufflé, St Jacques with saffron. Cheeses such as blue cheese and old goat cheese will be sublimated by the Pinot Gris. It will of course be tasted during aperitifs or fruit desserts.
Oenological analysis of Pinot Gris d'Alsace
To the eye : Beautiful sustained golden yellow color, brilliant reflections, beautiful viscosity, presence of tears.
On the nose : Fine, open nose, beautiful expression of the floral bouquet. Smoky, fruity notes (apricots, yellow peaches, mirabelle plums). Complex, rich and marked by the grape variety.
In the mouth : Beautiful power in the mouth, ample and elegant finish, beautiful freshness. Good length, finesse and smoothness. Notes of white fruits and slightly toasted notes. Fruity aromas (yellow fruits), ripe pears, quince paste and fruit candies.
The terroir Bollenberg
The name "Bollenberg" comes from the Celtic god of fire, from "Belen" or "Belenus".
This hill is very sunny and windy and is located south of Rouffach. This climate is beneficial to the growth of a rare flora and the proliferation of an exclusive fauna. This is worth the honor of being a protected area.
The intensely calcareous terroir of the Bollenberg (thin layer of soil and mother rock often outcropping) as well as this micro-climate are beneficial to the elaboration of Pinot Gris.
How do we award our Pinot Gris cuvée Elise?
Our Pinot Gris cuvée Elise is awarded by the specific competition for particularly typical Alsace wines "Le Sigillé de la Confrérie Saint Étienne". It rewards not only the wines worthy of a medal but also wines that are rigorously in accordance with the tradition of the great wines of Alsace.
The wines are judged on different criteria: organoleptic and gustatory, typical of the Alsatian grape varieties and terroirs.
This is how our Pinot Gris cuvée Elise has been awarded the Confrérie Saint Etienne logo since its creation in 1987.