Kuentz Bas Alsace 2022

$20.00
Article number: TW-5011
Availability: In stock

peach pit, key lime peel, lychee, magnolia blossom, and violets

We actually featured this wine as a run-up to Thanksgiving because it is so versatile. The vintage, sporting a more artistic label, has arrived and it works nicely now too. Founded in the late 18th century, Domaine Kuentz-Bas is managed by local luminary Jean-Baptiste Adam who, like the rest of Kermit’s Alsatian producers, focuses on biodynamic and low-intervention viticulture. Though the Domaine holds land in three of Alsace’s grand crus, equal care is put into their entry-level bottlings, including this curiosity. Simply labeled “Alsace,” this is a rarity in that it is a field blended white instead of the more traditional single varietal wine. Blends such as this are uncommon today but they were once commonplace throughout the region. This is one of many traditional practices at play at Kuentz-Bas, and one of many reasons why Kermit calls it one of the greatest values in Alsatian wine.

The blend of fruit for this wine changes every year, but for the 2021 vintage it is predominantly composed of Pinot Blanc and Muscat, with small amounts of Riesling to add acidity, and Gewürztraminer for body and floral characteristics. After harvest by hand, this wine ferments spontaneously in stainless steel before racking to massive, hundred-year-old barrels. When you open this wine you will want to serve it chilled, but not ice cold- about 45-50 degrees should suffice. On the palate, this wine punches well above its weight class with notes of peach pit, key lime peel, lychee, magnolia blossom, and violets. Drink now through 2025 with cheese fondue, coq au vin blanc or ham and potato gratin.

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