Description

The Gaulois orange wine from Domaine Bohn in Alsace is made from whole-bunch maceration of Gewurztraminer and Riesling juice. After pressing, the wine is vinified and aged in two very different vessels. This is followed by 11 months of ageing in an old 300-litre acacia barrel. Each vessel develops and shapes the wine’s personality in a different way, through its shape, material and porosity. The Orange Gaulois impresses as much with its divinely smooth and fruity nose as with its dry, fresh palate and great tannic finesse.

Bernard and Arthur Bohn tend their unique schist or sandstone-volcanic terroirs using environmentally friendly methods. They manage the soil with care. The diversity and preservation of local flora and fauna are fundamental to the estate’s vineyard. Native vegetation covers the ground; the grass is not mown but rolled into a green carpet. Here, chemicals are avoided through the practice of ecological and environmentally friendly viticulture. As independent winegrowers, they follow their own path. The estate has decided to formalise its approach and is now completing its conversion to organic farming.

All vintages are harvested by hand. Yields are deliberately kept low. Bernard is also the estate’s oenologist. Demanding when it comes to quality, he explains that the wine must reflect, without artifice, the terroir and climate from which it originates. He advocates minimalist winemaking without the use of oenological products. For the majority of the cuvées, vinification concludes with a long ageing period in old Alsatian casks. Or in barrels to achieve the balance and length of great gastronomic wines. Mineral, fresh, light, persistent and very easy to drink.

What to eat with an Alsace Orange Gaulois from Domaine Bohn?

• A vegetable couscous
• Flambéed prawns
• Basque-style chicken
• Or simply a few tapas,