Beck-Hartweg 2021 Riesling Grand Cru Frankstein
This is a memorable Riesling from two parcels in the Grand Cru of Frankstein, which rests above the town of Dambach-la-Ville on a fault of granite. Frauenberg is a parcel that gives small berries that Florian and Mathilde find to have great concentration and intense acidity. This is blended with fruit from the Pflanzer parcel, which has less intensity and provides more delicate character to the blend. There's enough acidity and mineral sharpness from the granitic soils for this natural wine to age gracefully, but it's also pretty scintillating wine to drink now! -EL
Fun fact: The first written mentions of the Frankstein terroir date back to 1291. Wolff Beck was already cultivating vines in the Frankstein in ... 1578!
Notes from Florian and Mathilde: The Grand Cru Frankstein 2021 that we are currently presenting after two years of aging is a successful example of the expression of this terroir, very dry with a marked saline structure, crystalline, salivating, giving a lot of depth to the wine. The acidity is very straight, precise, vertical, chiseled, representing the granite terroir. This wine has a very dynamic energy, a lot of vitality, with a significant length all in lace, airy, carried by the minerality. It has a very good capacity to age. The wines of Frankstein accompany perfectly a cuisine based on raw products, quality, with little or no cooking, to go with the wine rich in character and finesse: fish tartare, sashimi, crunchy summer vegetables, freshwater fish such as trout or pikeperch with a light and lemony sauce. With aging, its minerality will accompany long-maturing cheeses: old comté, parmesan, beaufort.