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Arthur Ostertag's grandfather founded the Domaine back in 1966 and handed the keys to the cellar to André Ostertag in 1980 when the latter was just 21. André has always seen wine as a language that speaks to the senses of sight, smell, taste, and touch - and one that calls upon the grower's critical faculties, as well as memory (and memories). His winemaking is a "very soft process" that relies on preserving the living matter - slowly shaping the wine over a long time. Assuming control in 2018 - and with two generations still at his side - Arthur embodies this same approach. The Jardins range is a gracefully evocative introduction to the nature of the family's plots of vines, while Arthur continues to honour the spirit of observation and experimentation with occasional bottlings such as L'Éxutoire and Les Aventures de l'Agneau Masqué. At the top of the tree, the grand cru Muenchberg and lieu-dit bottlings balance sensuality and precision with peerless brilliance.
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2020 The Pinot Gris Les Jardins is a blend of four small “gardens” of vines, farmed biodynamically, and located in the towns of Epfig, Itterswiller, and Albé. These plots are based on three distinct natures of soil: Clayey sandstone (50%), loess (15%), and schist (35%). The blend is completed by several single-vineyard plots: a young (15-year-old) site; a recently acquired plot in the Zellberg’s clay-sandstone-limestone soils; a plot in the Fronholz on the opposite side from the one we bottle as lieu-dit; and any over-producing rows in the Muenchberg grand-cru that we don’t include in the top bottling. The result is a fresh, intense Pinot Gris with a floral, slightly smoky nose and aromas of ripe yellow fruit, citrus, and honey. On the palate, the combination of terroirs gives a wine with an unusual “dry-and-fat” balance for the region, both full and tense with a true mineral length despite its identity as a “Vin de Fruit”. – Arthur Ostertag
