1605 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94702

KERMIT LYNCH WINE MERCHANT

Technical Information

Wine Blend Vine Age Soil Type Vineyard Area*
Crémant d'Alsace
60% Pinot Auxerrois, 20% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Blanc, 5% Pinot Noir Planted in 1972 and 2009 Granitic Colluvium, Alluvium 1 ha
Edelzwicker
Varies by vintage, see below Planted between 1982 and 2015 Granitic Colluvium, Alluvium N/A
Gentil
50% Riesling, 25% Muscat, 20% Pinot Blanc, 5% Sylvaner and Pinot Gris Planted between 1976 and 2010 Granitic Colluvium, Alluvium N/A
Gewurztraminer “Réserve”
Gewurztraminer Planted in 1969 and 1999 Limestone, Sandstone, Marl .8 ha (plus declassified Grand Cru and Lieux-dits fruit)
Muscat
Vignoble de Katzenthal
33.3% Muscat d'Alsace, 66.6% Muscat Ottonel Planted in 1969, 1975, 1990, and 2005 Granite with Mica, Calcareous Marl .69 ha
Muscat “Réserve”
35% Muscat Ottonel, 65% Muscat d’Alsace Planted in 1988, 1992, 2012 Granitic colluvium, limestone .17 ha
Pinot Blanc
Vieilles Vignes
65% Pinot Auxerrois, 20% Pinot Blanc, 15% Pinot Gris Planted in 1965 and 1978 N/A 2.5 ha
Sylvaner “Oolithe”
Sylvaner Planted in 1983, 1987 Oolitic limestone .12 ha
Pinot Gris "Réserve"
Pinot Gris Planted in 1988 and 2008 Marly Limestone .55 ha (plus declassified Grand Cru and Lieux-dits fruit)
Pinot Noir “Reserve”
Pinot Noir Planted in 1975 Limestone, Gray Marl, Granite .3 ha
Pinot Noir “Gallus 1732”
Pinot Noir 27 years old Sandstone, marl .15 ha
Pinot Noir Altenbourg
Pinot Noir Planted in 1996 Marly Limestone .7 ha
Riesling “Reserve”
Riesling Planted in 1969 and 2006 Gray Marl, Granitic Colluvium, Alluvium, Limestone .8 ha (plus declassified Grand Cru and Lieux-dits fruit)
Gewurztraminer
Dorfburg VV
Gewurztraminer Planted in 1965 Oolitic Calcareous Marl .4 ha
Riesling
Vignoble de Katzenthal
Riesling Planted in 1985 and 2009 Granite with Mica, Calcareous Marl .8 ha (plus declassified Grand Cru and Lieux-dits fruit)
Syrah “Le Samson”
Syrah Planted in 2019 and 2021 Granite with Mica .1 ha
Gewurztraminer
Grand Cru Kaefferkopf
Gewurztraminer Planted in 1965 Clay, Limestone .4 ha
Gewurztraminer
Grand Cru Sporen
Gewurztraminer Planted in 1975 and 1979 Marly Limestone .31 ha
Gewurztraminer
Grand Cru Wineck-Schlossberg
Gewurztraminer Planted in 1959 and 1999 Granite with Mica .48 ha
Pinot Gris
Dorfburg
Pinot Gris Planted in 1994 Oolitic Calcareous Marl .35 ha
Pinot Gris
Hinterburg de Katzenthal
Pinot Gris Planted in 1982 and 1997 Granite with Mica, Calcareous Marl .75 ha
Pinot Gris
Grand Cru Kaefferkopf
Pinot Gris 1997 Clay, Limestone, Sandstone N/A
Riesling
Grand Cru Kaefferkopf
Riesling Planted in 1978 Clay, Limestone, Sandstone .32 ha
Riesling
Pfoeller
Riesling Planted in 1982 Limestone rich in fossils “muschelkalk” .5 ha
Riesling
Grand Cru Schoenenbourg
Riesling Planted in 1995 Marl “marne verte de keuper” .14 ha
Riesling
Grand Cru Wineck-Schlossberg
Riesling Planted in 1958 and 2010 Granite with Mica 1 ha
Riesling
Grand Cru Mandelberg
Riesling Planted in 1974, 2016 Limestone .24 ha
Gewurztraminer
Dorfburg VV SGN
Gewurztraminer Planted in 1965 Oolitic Calcareous Marl .4 ha
Gewurztraminer
Grand Cru Furstentum VT
Gewurztraminer Planted in 1969 and 2008 Limestone, Marl .45 ha
Gewurztraminer
Grand Cru Sporen SGN
Gewurztraminer Planted in 1975 and 1979 Marly Limestone .31 ha
Gewurztraminer
Grand Cru Wineck-Schlossberg VV VT
Gewurztraminer Planted in 1959 and 1999 Granite with Mica .48 ha
Pinot Gris
Hinterburg de Katzenthal SGN
Pinot Gris Planted in 1982 and 1997 Granite with Mica, Calcareous Marl .75 ha
Pinot Gris
Hinterburg de Katzenthal VT
Pinot Gris Planted in 1982 and 1997 Granite with Mica, Calcareous Marl .75 ha
Riesling
Pfoeller VT
Riesling Planted in 1982 Limestone rich in fossils “muschelkalk” .5 ha
* "ha" = hectares; one hectare equals roughly two and a half acres

VITICULTURE / VINIFICATION

Félix is increasingly interested in organic farming and uses no synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides to treat the vines. Cover crops are planted in every other row in the vineyards. Some vineyards are plowed, but certain parcels can be plowed only once a year because any more would erode the soils. He treats the grapes with the same individualized care, harvesting by hand and gently loading them into the press. The use of native yeasts during fermentation makes the process longer and slower, creating a more lush texture.

Vineyard Work:
Vineyards are planted at densities of 4500-5000 vines per hectare and can reach up to 8000 vines per hectare in the steepest vineyard sites. Guyot training is used but may be double or simple depending on each individual vine. Meticulous de-budding helps control yields, so green harvesting is rarely necessary. Sulfur, copper, and other organic products are used to treat the vineyards, and homemade compost from byproducts of organic agriculture is used to fertilize the poorest soils.

“Classic” White Wines:
• Grapes are are gently pressed in a pneumatic press for 4-10 hours, and then the must is left for 24-36 hours to allow the heavy lees to settle.
• Fermented 1-3 months in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks or oak barrels
• Wines are racked two weeks after the fermentation has completed, and kept on the fine lees until the mid-May bottling.
2022 Edelzwicker blend: 31% Pinot Blanc, 29% Riesling, 20 % Muscat, 15% Sylvaner, 15% Gewurztraminer
2021 Edelzwicker blend: 25% Pinot Blanc, 25% Sylvaner, 10 % Riesling, 15% Muscat, 5% Gewurztraminer, 20% Pinot Gris
2020 Edelzwicker blend: Pinot Blanc 45%, Sylvaner 20%, Riesling 15%, Muscat 15%, Chasselas 5%

Grand Cru & Lieux-Dits Wines:
• Grapes are gently pressed in a pneumatic press for 4-10 hours, and then the must is left for 24-36 hours to allow the heavy lees to settle.
• Fermented 1-3 months in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks or oak barrels
• Wines are racked two weeks after the fermentation has completed, and kept on the fine lees until the September bottling.

Crémant d’Alsace “Brut Extra”:
• Grapes are harvested at a potential alcohol of around 11% and vinified in the méthode champenoise.
• Around mid-March, the first fermentation is finished and the wine is bottled for the second fermentation, which lasts two to three months.
• Left in bottle for at least twelve months before disgorging, when a minimum of dosage is added.

Pinot Noir “Gallus 1732” & Altenbourg:
• Fermented in stainless steel tanks with native yeasts
• Aged 15 months in neutral oak barrels, then 3 months in tank before bottling
• Bottled unfiltered
• “Gallus” is the name of the vineyard, named for Gallus Meyer, the first Meyer who arrived in Katzenthal, and 1732 is his birth year.

Syrah “Le Samson”:
• Old-vine, selection massalle, serine planted in the Grand Cru of Wineck Schlossberg, for it’s particularly steep slope and southerly exposure.
• 50% of grapes are destemmed
• Ages for 15 months in barrel, no new oak
• The parcel on the hillside where the vines are planted is referred to by locals as “Samson,” though this is not a name on the cadastral map

MISCELLANEA

Then, one day at my place in the south of France, in the company of Domaine Tempier’s Daniel Ravier, I was tasting through an assortment of samples from all over the country. We lowered our noses into glasses of a Pinot Blanc. Hmm, old vines, who’s that? Meyer-Fon . . . We looked up at each other, eyes widening. HEY, that smells great. Wow, the stuff wine dreams are made of. We continued through the domaine’s samples with huge smiles and oohs and aahs, enjoying that rare thrill of recognition that you experience when you discover something crucial in your glass.

Kermit Lynch on his first tasting of Meyer-Fonné’s wines


AOC Alsace Explained

AOC Alsace wines are generally varietal wines. The wines in which the grape variety appears on the label are 100% the stated variety.

The permitted grapes are the four noble grapes: Gewurztraminer, Muscat, Riesling, and Pinot Gris, completed with Auxerrois (also known as Klevner), Chasselas, Pinot Blanc, Savagnin rosé, Sylvaner, and Pinot Noir.

When no grape variety indicated on the label, the wine is typically a blend.

Depending on which varieties are used in the blend, the producer can label the wine as AOC Alsace, AOC Alsace “Edelzwicker,” or AOC Alsace “Gentil d’Alsace.”

AOC Alsace blends and “Edelzwicker” can be a blend of any grapes allowed within the AOC. There is no grape minimum; the different varieties may be vinified together or separately. The mention of vintage is optional. There is no technical difference between the composition of AOC Alsace blends and “Edelzwicker”—it is at the producer’s discretion as to how they would like to label their wine.

The denomination “Gentil d’Alsace” is reserved for AOC Alsace wines that fit within the standards of a superior quality blend. This blend must consist of a minimum of 50% of noble grapes: Riesling, Muscat, Pinot Gris, and/or Gewurztraminer, the rest made up of Sylvaner, Chasselas, Pinot Blanc, and/or Auxerrois. Before blending, each grape variety must be vinified separately and must officially qualify as an AOC Alsace wine.

General Information

Country
France
Region
Alsace
Appellation(s)
Alsace, Crémant d'Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru
Producer
François & Félix Meyer
Founded
Late 19th Century
Annual Production
7,000 - 7,500 cases
Farming
Organic (practicing)
Website
http://www.meyer-fonne.com
View on Google Maps

Gallery

Video

KERMIT LYNCH NEWSLETTER
Receive our Monthly Newsletter and Special Promotions