Domaine Weinbach 2016
22 January 2018

We are delighted to be able to release the 2016 vintage from Domaine Weinbach. The season threw up no shortage of challenges and yet the resulting wines display all the elegance and personality we’ve come to expect from this great estate.

Spared the late April frosts that caused such widespread problems across other parts of France (the Vosges mountains providing a natural barrier) , the region was nevertheless beset with the sort of soggy spring and early summer that the British have come to know well. Intense mildew pressure meant much time was spent amongst the vines, particularly for an estate as committed to organic and biodynamic principals as Domaine Weinbach. Flowering was delayed as a result of this period of poor weather, the upshot being an eventual harvest was both long and late. Summer eventually arrived in mid-July when a spike of warm weather and an end to the rain gave the grapes a much needed push along the road to ripeness. The team, sensing the prospect of an extremely late harvest, did all they could to energize the crop through green harvesting, leaf removal and careful vineyard floor management.

Harvest eventually began on the 29th September and ran all the way through to November 4th – a waiting game that carried with it the risk of more adverse weather. But the gamble clearly paid off and the team were able to harvest ripe grapes of aromatic complexity and beautifully structuring acidities, a testament to great vineyards and intense periods of work during the season. With these 2016s the team at Weinbach, Catherine now joined by both of her sons, has produced another benchmark range of wines that confirms their place as a true standard bearer for great Alsatian wines.