Kientzler Grand Cru Osterberg Riesling 2021

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

‘Osterberg is the most classic Grand Cru in our portfolio’

Eric Kientzler

‘… the Osterberg is more classic and flinty, requiring longer in bottle.’ 

Tom Stevenson – The Wines of Alsace.

Here 50+ year old vines deliver a tight and very mineral Riesling from marl, sandstone and limestone soils. From an east facing vineyard located just above the great Geisberg site. The cooler 2021 vintage has given a modest 13% alc with excellent intensity and purity. Very linear. Great potential.

13.0% Alc/Vol; 2.4 g/l RS; 7.59 g/l TA.

The distinguished Osterberg offers a salivating brilliance and a penetrating intensity of flavours.

Le Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France, La Revue du Vin de France, 2024 93 Points

About Kientzler

For five generations, the Kientzler family has been based in Alsace, perpetuating a love for great dry wines and the local gastronomy.

As early as 1866, Dominique Alphonse Kientzler had inherited vines from his father and grandfather and in 1895 was involved in the creation of France’s first winemaking cooperative in Ribeauvillé, in addition to running the local grocery shop. His son Alphonse carried on the grocery business while also tending to the vines; he eventually became the Mayor of Ribeauvillé either side of World War II.

It was Alphonse’s son François though, who was the first to fully concentrate on wine production, moving to Switzerland to study viticulture. By the 1970s, he was joined by his son André in the wine business and the pair undertook a massive replanting program to replace much of the old Chasselas with the noble Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer varieties.

Today, the estate encompasses 13.8 hectares, of which 4.4 are Grand Crus sites spread across the villages of Ribeauvillé, Bergheim, Hunawihr and Riquewihr, including significant parcels in the Grand Crus of Geisberg, Osterberg and Kirchberg. And in turn André handed over the reins to his sons in 2009; Thierry looks after the winemaking and Eric the commercial side of the business. The wines are crafted with the greatest respect for the land and its surrounds

‘One of the most talented Winemakers in Alsace…..he has Riesling and Gewürztraminer growing in prime sites and it is what he manages to do with these that ranks his wines among the very best in Alsace. Although his generic Riesling has great class and finesse, his Grand Cru Geisberg and Grand Cru Osterberg are very much finer. The Geisberg is the riper and more opulent, with a wisp of smokiness to the fruit, the Osterberg is more classic and flinty, requiring longer in bottle.’

Tom Stevenson, The Wines of Alsace

Learn more about the Kientzler estate with the current winemaker, Eric Kientzler, in the video below.

In the Vineyard

The Mulhforst lieu-dit is located in the village of Hunawihr, also the home of Trimbach’s Clos Ste Hune! The town is pretty much smack-bang in the middle of Alsace, a 75km strip in the North-East on France bordering Germany.

In recent years they have replanted many of their vineyards with old massal selections and created an experimental vineyard in the Mulhforst lieu-dit (0.3 hectares) to better follow and study specific grapevines and their behavior and have better genetic material at hand when replanting becomes necessary.

In the Winery

The wines are fermented and aged in stainless steel to guarantee the clear and elegant Kientzler character.

The 2021 Vintage at Kientzler

A vintage like in “the old time”. Picking from 20th Sept until 21 October. So the vintage was fresh and humid, with rains almost every day so it was a challenging vintage to cure the vintage. The yield was low and very low for all Pinot family. Fortunately the weather was good for the picking. It results a vintage with really high acidity level and freshness (Alc is around 13%). The wine are sharp and pure.

Eric Kientzler

Where in the World is Kientzler?

Kientzler is based in Ribeauvillé in Alsace.