Grand Cru

Moenchberg

Andlau and Eichhoffen

Its gentle slopes shelter a generous terroir which produces structured, complex wines with elegant grandeur.

  • Soil type Marl-limestone-slate and colluviums
  • Surface area in hectares 11,83
  • Exposure South, South-East
  • Village Andlau and Eichhoffen
  • Altitude 230 to 260 metres
  • Grape varieties (in % per variety)
    • Riesling 62%
    • Pinot Gris 23%
    • Gewurztraminer 15%
Use the interactive map »

Grand Cru Moenchberg

The wines

The major force of Moenchberg is giving fruity, rich and complex wines even when they are young, for both great dry and splendidly-sweet wines.They can be recognised by their generous frame, perfectly balanced by a punchy acidity which provides a note of freshness, even during hot vintage years.

The terroir-tie

Wine specificities

Moenchberg gives its wines a regular, massive and overlaying acidity. This acidity along with the early-ripening terroir gives salinity, length and recognisable intensity year after year. The cru’s fruitiness is expressed through typical aromas of grapefruit and mango – even fruit jelly when young.

It’s only after four to five years of ageing that Moenchberg wines give tasters the most complex aromas with notes of flint and spices.

This terroir is distinguished by a succulent sensation.

The acid structure is generous, as if deposited on the tongue, and slowly progresses along the palate. There is first a vigorous then fleshy sensation. The substance then tightens near the finish. The subtle length is upheld by noble bitterness which blends into a delicate minerality. Advancing step by step, the finish provokes a noticeable astringent feel.

Le Riesling exhibe ses notes d’agrumes dans un registre frais. Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer offer a range of hazelnut and fresh almond notes in a great fruity balance.

Romain Ilitis
Best Sommelier of France, 2012 and Meilleur Ouvrier de France, 2015 (in the Sommelier category)

Choose and serve

Vintage years

Moenchberg wines have all proved to keep well, unravelling a unique complexity when aged.
Through the work of wine-makers and its mastered generosity, Moenchberg wines are able to be compared to the greatest terroirs.

These are wines which fully express themselves after 3 or 4 years. But the delicious structure feel makes them wines which can be enjoyed even earlier.

Lors de millésimes précoces : les notes de fruits secs marquent plus nettement les vins, notamment dans un registre grillé. The slightly bitter notes accentuate the lingering taste.

During late-ripening vintage years: the generous structure gains in vigour providing a vivacious liveliness which highlights the deliciousness of these wines.

Romain Ilitis
Best Sommelier of France, 2012 and Meilleur Ouvrier de France, 2015 (in the Sommelier category)

After 3 to 4 years, Riesling from the Moenchberg Grand Cru unveils its aromatic complexity of fresh, salty seaweed, moss, fern and also fruit flavours. Without losing its racy and young finesse, it mainly expresses a surprising full-bodied and round touch.

Serge Dubs

Wine and food pairing

The lingering bitter sensation is well-suited for earth-based products, vegetables or cereals. Vegetable soup with or without meat, spelt with herbs, risotto with cockles or scallops … these dishes provide the wine with a savoury anchor steered by the roasted notes and lingering bitterness.

Romain Ilitis
Best Sommelier of France, 2012 and Meilleur Ouvrier de France, 2015 (in the Sommelier category)

Moenchberg-2
Moenchberg2-2
Moenchberg3

Grand Cru Moenchberg

The terroir

The nature

Assimilated to the marl-sandstone family, Moenchberg also contains other geological components which adds to its complexity. This early-ripening terroir likes the heat.

Location

At the foot of the Vosges mountain range, Moenschberg sits on the south/south-east slope of a hill overlooking the village of Eichhoffen. The gentle hillslope stands out in the heart of majestic vineyard landscapes at a relatively low altitude of 230 to 260m. It is located on the southern end of the Saverne fault mosaic.

Soil

The deep soils of Moenschberg sit on soliflucted material from the Quaternary period, composed of sandstone pebbles, sand and clay materials. These deep soils have a great water supply and reheat slowly in the spring.

Ils sont recouverts de conglomérat calcaire du Muschelkalk, qui affleure au sommet de la colline. Over time, calcareous blocks from this formation have blended with the Quaternary pebbles. More clay and loam soil is found at the bottom of the slope.

3>Microclimate

Sheltered from the north and west winds by the Vosges mountain range, it’s an early-ripening terroir. Rainfall is limited to 700 mm/year which doesn’t stop there being a good water supply thanks to the soil’s water-reserve and the presence of the Andlau river at the foot of the Grand Cru.

There is excellent sunshine from sunrise to sunset as the Grand Cru is located on a prominent hillside above the plain.

Grape varieties

Today it’s mostly Riesling which benefits from this warm and early-ripening terroir and from the porous marl-sandstone soil.

Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer also appreciate this rich soil by producing generous and concentrated wines.

The people

The name Moenchberg is translated by «monk’s mount». This name comes from the 11th century and marks the cloistered appropriation of this growth area. In reality, wine-growing already existed here during the 7th century. Contemporary wine-makers continue with this great tradition, paying tribute to a very generous terroir

Heritage transmission

Most of the east and south slopes of the Andlau valley were planted with vines as of the 7th century but the first written evidence revealing the high quality of this terroir dates from the 11th century, notably thanks to the Alsace Pope Leo IX who got his wine supplies directly from Andlau.

Over time, the abbeys managed the valley’s wine production. The dominance of clergymen in the Andlau Grands Crus was obvious even in the name of Moenchberg which is translated by «monk’s mount» and which directly refers to the Benedictine monks from the Altorf abbey.

Jean-Louis Stoltz (1777-1869), a surgeon and ampelograph settled in Andlau for his retirement after having written his famous Ampélographie des vins d’Alsace (1852). He made an inventory and classified all the best wine-making terroirs in Alsace, including Moenchberg.

Today, the wine guild Confrérie des Hospitaliers du Haut d'Andlau perpetuates the idea of hospitality and good wine.

3>Beloved vineyards and wine

Specific rules

Its privileged and sunny setting greatly reduces any outbreaks of grey rot. Due to its low water stress, it’s only normal that fighting against these diseases and destroying insects is limited to the strict necessity.

La pente douce permet le travail mécanique du sol. The soil accepts temporary grass cover which has no negative effects on the vineyard.

The Moenchberg generosity obliges wine-makers to control the vine ardour through natural grass cover and tillage work.

The Grands Crus of Alsace

Discover also