Halfway from Strasbourg, the capital of Alsace, and Colmar is where we can find Dambach-la-Ville. A medieval town, home of the Frankstein Grand Cru (one of the 51 Grand Crus in Alsace) and the great wines of the Hauller Family.
First we have to talk about the region of Alsace and its unique climate. Did you know that Alsace is the driest region of France? I tell you why: The geography in Alsace is determined by two main factors which are the Vosges mountains in the west and the Rhine river in the east. The vineyards are concentrated in a narrow strip, north–south direction, on the lower eastern slopes of the Vosges, at altitudes of 175–420 meters. Those altitudes provide a good balance between temperature, drainage and sun exposure.The Vosges mountains tend to shelter Alsace from rain and maritime influence that comes from the west, the Atlantic and the region is therefore rather dry and sunny. While the slope down the Vosges is generally east-facing, many of the best sites are south-west to south-east facing, and benefit from extra sun exposure like the Grand Crus.
The Frankstein Grand Cru groups together four hillsides just on the border of the village of Dambach-la-Ville. The south to south-east exposures are protected to show the best of the terroir. The paricularity of this Grand Cru comes from the soil: here both the soil and sub-soil are granite. The substrate is very light, stony, sandy and not very deep, often with the parent rock being visible on the surface. The are four minerals which we can find in this granite soil:
- quartz, pure silica, acidic in nature
- white mica (muscovite), harder than the black, which breaks up into silver chips
- black mica (biotite) which dissolves
- feldspar, which transforms into layers of clay over a cycle of several thousand years
These granite-specific minerals can be found in the wines, giving a very characteristic fine and mouth-watering minerality. Fortunately, the Dambach-le-Ville granite is very cracked, therefore allowing the roots to dig deep-down to find nutritions as well as the much-needed water. The overlapping of sand, stones and rocks creates a very favourable draining effect for the healthiness of grapes, allowing Frankstein wines to reach optimum ripeness without botrytis. The Frankstein Grand Cru lies between 220 to 330 metres above sea level on 56,20 hectares where four of Alsace’s noble varieties are planted: 49% Gewurztraminer, 27% Riesling, 22% Pinot Gris and 2% Muscat.
This is where half of the Grand Crus come at the Hauller Family winery. The history of the Hauller family began in 1776, when François-Joseph Hauller, first of a great master cooper lineage, settles in Dambach-La-Ville, to establish his cooperage workshop. By the end of the 20th century, this activity expanded into viticulture and wine, which then became the family’s core business. That wasn’t new in the area, a lot of families have became vintners from a traditionally cooper family. Louis Hauller was the first to expand the company’s core business into viticulture in the 1970’s. He then produced his first bottles which he sold directly to the consumer during wine fairs throughout France. In 1990 Claude Hauller joined the company, enabling his father, Louis to focus on the vineyard and the winemaking. Claude developed partnerships on a regional scale, and on a national scale. In 2015, the two sons of Claude and Laurence; Ludovic and Guillaume decided to bring their skills and abilities to the family estate. The two brothers want to consolidate, sustain and develop the company’s activity while developing a modern vision in a constantly changing world.
The Hauller Family produces 3 out of the 51 Grand Cru of Alsace today. Those exceptional terroirs comprised of Frankstein Grand Cru, Winzenberg Grand Cru, and Zinnkoepflé Grand Cru allow the wine estate a precious bond to these unique panels of soil and terroir. The wine estate is one of the first in Alsace to introduce “Vinolok”’s cork. You can find these glass stoppers on Cuvée Léon’s bottles, a must-have in the Famille Hauller’s wine range. In Spring 2018, a new collection named Héritage is launched, which is made out of a parcel selection of old vines, and contained in an engraved bottle. This elegant and modern bottle highlights the emblem of barrel makers, the family’s original activity.
The family has a huge range of different wines from easy-drinking entry level to Grand Cru and late harvest premium category from all the grape varieties allowed in the region. They want to express the uniqueness of each terroir through its favourite grape variety.
And we must not forget that these wines are organic. They always cared about the environment, hence the organically farmed wines, using only natural-origin products and excluding any fertilizers and pesticides.
The biggest production comes from under the brand name Louis Hauller with the 4 different range:
- Prestige range and Crémant
- Héritage
- Alsace Grand Crus
- Cuvée Léon and Vendages Tardives (late harvest wines)
- Bio range
There are several bottles made by the Hauller brothers called the Hauller Fréres. A Crémant, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and a Riesling. From 2015, the brothers are taking care of the Pierre Sperry winery too and developping sales for both brands. We can say that they are really busy making exceptional wines in Dambach-la-Ville for us!
Sources:
The Author
