2021 Joseph Cattin Riesling Hatschbourg Alsace Grand Cru

What was your family doing in 1720? If you’re a member of the Cattin winemaking family in Alsace, you know. Your family was making wine in the small village of Voegtlinshoffen, where the 12th generation still makes wine today.

Three hundred years of winemaking wisdom—that generational knowledge of the best grapes and the best farming practices for the estate vineyards composed of soils grapes love like clay, limestone, sandstone, ferruginous, and marl—shines in the wines of all Joseph Cattin’s wines.

The Riesling Hatschbourg Alsace Grand Cru is grown in one of the family’s oldest plots in the Hatschbourg Grand Cru designation where vines are planted on South East facing slopes at the foot of the Vosges Mountains. The hand-harvested Riesling grown here is terroir-driven, incredibly aromatic, and age-worthy for up to 15 years.

This is a dry, gastronomic wine that pairs fantastically with lemony-sauced fish and buttery lobster (delicate seafood is always a safe bet with dry Alsace Riesling), but it’s also versatile and pairs with onion tarts, roast pork belly, dim sum, and Vietnamese dishes. 

Aging: There is no flavor of oak in the mouth although this is aged in traditional big old oak casks.

Tasting Notes: 100% Riesling. This pale golden Riesling has the tell-tale mineral nose of Alsace Riesling along with flowers and white stone fruits. Dry and elegant with citrus and mineral on the palate with a long-lasting, lip-smacking finish. This is what we’re drinking when it’s hot. Pairs amazingly with sunshine and anytime as an aperitif or with most light foods.