{"title":"Léo Dirringer","description":"\u003cp\u003eI first met Léo at the Sommerfascht in Alsace in 2021 where his wines stood out among the 60 odd producers for their purity, verve, and digestibility. I arranged to visit him at his cellar in Dambach-la-Ville and have been back on many occasions since.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLéo’s family have been making wine at their old cellar, situated in the former residence of the counts of Mullenheim, since the 16th century. Today, the estate includes 14 hectares on the manganese-rich granite hills above the village and the plains below. The family’s wines, bottled under the Ruhlmann-Dirringer labels, are highly regarded in the region, achieving repeated acknowledgement from Guide Hachette coups de coeur, Guide Pudlowski, a Trophée d’Excellence in 2007 and a Grande Medaille d’Or in 2011, with the top score in the Riesling du Monde category.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLéo, born in 1992, studied viticulture in Montpellier before a formative apprenticeship with Marie-Thérèse Chappaz in Valais, whose committed practice of biodynamics impressed the young student. It was a tasting of the 2011 Chalasses Marnes Bleue from Jean-François Ganevat that convinced Léo to implement a more radical approach to his vineyard work and cellar. Building on the legacy his parents had established, he shifted the entire estate to organics when he returned to take over in 2016, carrying on his family’s work while establishing his own project in a subterranean cellar below his father’s.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn his own wines Léo seeks the purest expression of Dambach-la-Ville that he can achieve using large concrete vats to vinify the fruit from the plains, and large foudre or barriques for the fruit from the vines above the village growing on granite. The whites are succulent and of breadth, with a balance of volume of fruit and mineral density that has become a signature of cuvées like Pur Jus and Grande Soif. His Pinot Noirs are vinified with carbonic maceration, often with a splash of Auxerrois or Pinot Gris to add freshness, complexity, and volume. They are firmly Alsatian, but with an elegance and purity that is reminiscent of the Alpine Pinot. Having access to his family’s cellar and vineyards, Léo’s wines are among the very best value you’ll find in Alsace...\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"terre-a-boire-2023-leo-dirringer","title":"Terre a boire 2023 - Leo Dirringer","description":"\u003cp\u003ePinot Noir and Pinot Gris (20%) from the valley below Léo's cellar in Dambach-la-Ville, on alluvial soils. Whole bunches vatted for 5 days, then 8 months in concrete vats.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpry fruits and subtle spice on the nose. This lives up to its name with a distinctivly mineral timbre. Light red, best lightly chilled.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eI first met Léo at the Sommerfascht in Alsace in 2021 where his wines stood out among the 60 odd producers for their purity, verve, and digestibility. I arranged to visit him at his cellar in Dambach-la-ville and have been back on many occasions since. \u003cbr\u003eLéo’s family have been making wine at their old cellar, situated in the former residence of the counts of Mullenheim, since the 16th century. Today, the estate includes 14 hectares on the manganese-rich granite hills above the village and the plains below. The family’s wines, bottled under the Ruhlmann-Dirringer labels, are highly regarded in the region, achieving repeated acknowledgement from Guide Hachette coups de couers, Guide Pudlowski, a Trophée d’Excellence in 2007 and a Grande Medaille d’Or in 2011, with the top score in the Riesling du Monde category. \u003cbr\u003eLeo, born in 1992, studied viticulture in Montpellier before a formative apprenticeship with Marie-Therese Chappaz in Valais, whose committed practice of biodynamics impressed the young student. It was a tasting of the 2011 Chalasses Marnes Bleue from Jean-Francois Ganevat that convinced Leo to implement a more radical approach to his vineyard work and cellar. Building on the legacy his parents had established, he shifted the entire estate to organics when he returned to take over in 2016, carrying on his family’s work while establishing his own project in a subterranean cellar below his father’s.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn his own wines Leo seeks the purest expression of Dambach-la-ville that he can achieve using large concrete vats to vinify the fruit from the plains, and large foudre or barriques for the fruit from the vines above the village growing on granite. The whites are succulent and of breadth, with a balance of volume of fruit and mineral density that has become a signature of cuvées like Pur Jus and Grande Soif. His Pinot Noirs are vinified with carbonic maceration, often witha splash of Auxerrois or pinot Gris to add freshness, complexity, and volume. They are firmly Alsatian, but with an elegance and purity that is reminiscent of the Alpine Pinot. Having access to his family’s cellar and vineyards, Léo’s wines are among the very best value you’ll find in Alsace...\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eDespite being the largest producer of wine in Alsace with 450 hectares under vines, Dambach-la-ville’s quaint medieval streets remain quiet through the busy tourist season. Perhaps the cobbled streets that wind through the tilting buildings are too narrow for the tour buses. Nevertheless, the town is a thriving viticultural economy, built on the traditions of cooperage and winemaking that were established in the Middle Ages. The most prized sites are on rocky granite soils, south\/south east facing on sheer sloping parcels on the foothills of the Vosges.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Dambach-la-Ville, Alsace, France\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 12.5%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Léo Dirringer","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988706021714,"sku":"17000205","price":26.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-terre-a-boire-2023.jpg?v=1793699097"},{"product_id":"virose-2023-leo-dirringer","title":"Virose 2023 - Léo Dirringer","description":"\u003cp\u003eOne hundred percent Gewurztraminer from granite soils in Dambach-la-Ville, with five days of skin contact before pressing, then eight months in concrete vat. The skin contact and the granite together pull Gewurztraminer out of its usual register: the rose and lychee are still there but behind them is something drier, more savoury, more mineral than the variety tends to produce when direct-pressed on sedimentary soils.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eI first met Léo at the Sommerfascht in Alsace in 2021 where his wines stood out among the 60 odd producers for their purity, verve, and digestibility. I arranged to visit him at his cellar in Dambach-la-ville and have been back on many occasions since. \u003cbr\u003eLéo’s family have been making wine at their old cellar, situated in the former residence of the counts of Mullenheim, since the 16th century. Today, the estate includes 14 hectares on the manganese-rich granite hills above the village and the plains below. The family’s wines, bottled under the Ruhlmann-Dirringer labels, are highly regarded in the region, achieving repeated acknowledgement from Guide Hachette coups de couers, Guide Pudlowski, a Trophée d’Excellence in 2007 and a Grande Medaille d’Or in 2011, with the top score in the Riesling du Monde category. \u003cbr\u003eLeo, born in 1992, studied viticulture in Montpellier before a formative apprenticeship with Marie-Therese Chappaz in Valais, whose committed practice of biodynamics impressed the young student. It was a tasting of the 2011 Chalasses Marnes Bleue from Jean-Francois Ganevat that convinced Leo to implement a more radical approach to his vineyard work and cellar. Building on the legacy his parents had established, he shifted the entire estate to organics when he returned to take over in 2016, carrying on his family’s work while establishing his own project in a subterranean cellar below his father’s.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn his own wines Leo seeks the purest expression of Dambach-la-ville that he can achieve using large concrete vats to vinify the fruit from the plains, and large foudre or barriques for the fruit from the vines above the village growing on granite. The whites are succulent and of breadth, with a balance of volume of fruit and mineral density that has become a signature of cuvées like Pur Jus and Grande Soif. His Pinot Noirs are vinified with carbonic maceration, often witha splash of Auxerrois or pinot Gris to add freshness, complexity, and volume. They are firmly Alsatian, but with an elegance and purity that is reminiscent of the Alpine Pinot. Having access to his family’s cellar and vineyards, Léo’s wines are among the very best value you’ll find in Alsace...\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Gewurztraminer here comes from Manganese-rich granite facing due south. The name here references the persistent presence of court-noué in this lieu-dit, resulting in smaller berries and more concentration in the juice. The manganese helps with photosynthesis, here notable in the bold, terpenic, aromatic prowess of this cuvée year after year, and the mineral density we find on the palate.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Gewurztraminer, Auxerrois, Pinot Gris\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Dambach-la-Ville, Alsace, France\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eABV:\u003c\/strong\u003e 12.5%\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Léo Dirringer","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988712968530,"sku":"17000195","price":28.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-virose-2023.jpg?v=1793699099"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/collections\/l-o-dirringer--i17.jpg?v=1793700207","url":"https:\/\/www.brianswines.ie\/collections\/leo-dirringer.oembed","provider":"Brian's Wines","version":"1.0","type":"link"}