Altenberg

The Altenberg is a vineyard of great wine located at the beginning of the Alsatian vineyard, on the commune of Bergbieten. This locality occupies approximately 29,07 ha, at an altitude from 210 to 265 Mr. Relativement far away from the the crystalline Vosges, Altenberg profits from a South-eastern exposure offering one important duration of sunning to him, from a remarkable microclimate and a homogeneous ground, argilomarneux gypsifère of Keuper, where the presence of dolomitic gravels supports the warming and the circulation of water.

The excellent exposure and qualities of the ground put Riesling and Gewurztraminer at the honor, and predict an good agreement with the Tokay pinot gray and the Muscat of Alsace.

Very famous locality, Altenberg is quoted in documents of the Moyen-âge. One speaks about it as of the year 1050 in the files relating to the pope Leon IX. Many religious congregations and Evêché of Strasbourg had their vines there.

This wine reaches its righter balance after a few years of ageing, then developing the specific bouquet of the argilo-marly soil.

Altenberg de Bergbieten was one of the first soils classified in great wine. Its vine growers live in the middle of a valley to the quiet charm. They are right, often talented and always without claim. Top of Scharrach, a hill-headland covered with Mediterranean pines curved by the winds, the low valley of Mossig evokes a garden striated with narrow roads. The fatty and fertile ground fields, the orchards and the vines which are stretched on the slopes form a checkerwork with the asymmetrical boxes. In the old strengthened villages, medieval architecture testifies to an opulence which dates from the breeches of king Dagobert, the time when the small Mossig river marked a crossroads of roads of commercial and strategic interest. In this boxed region, at the villages recroquevillés around Romance churches, the History is a long succession of buried secrecies, as if the presence very close to Strasbourg the Capital threw a veil of fog on the ignored richnesses.

History

In the Middle Ages, Childebert II made build in Kirchheim an imposing palate of King Fainéant, now disappeared, whose ruins, single in the area, were still visible in XVe century. Plunged in one will have mysteries, this strange high mérovingien place, then Carolingian poked many legends. One of them tells that Dagobert II would have dreamed to build at the entry of the valley a new town of Troy inspired by the Greek model: Tronia, mythical city in the middle of the treillised vineyards, theater of intrigues, regicides imaginary on bottom of declines… and age of the wine. In these moved back times, the vineyard had already made its appearance. The locality “Altenberg” means besides that, of memory of man, one always cultivated vines on the baptized hills of this name. That of Bergbieten is quoted in the files as of XIe century. It belongs, in turn, with religious congregations and with évêché of Strasbourg before being restored into 1789 with the vine growers.

Since, for the wine growers of the low valley of Mossig the work of the ground holds some happy surprised. Fortune struck a first blow on March 13rd, 1895, one day when Emile Huber, the blacksmith of Traenheim, turned over the ground of his arpents of vines. Suddenly, it ran up against something of hard. It was not a grenade, but two terra cotta vases which contained a treasure: 7.000 silver coins! They dated from second half of XIIIe century and carried on their reverse a church, an angel, a lamb or an eagle. This extraordinary collection of pfennig of money whose origin remains an insoluble enigma was repurchased by German museums. It is exposed today to Berlin. A few years later, a vine grower of Altenberg fell on a full ballot box to crack. The metal box contained sesterces with the effigy of César, Roman Emperor.

Then in 1977, the chance still smiled, but this time it did not owe anything randomly. Altenberg was classified in Name of Controlled origin “Alsace Ghent Cru”.

It was discovered whereas the true treasure of the valley of Mossig was not hidden with ten feet under ground. It was the ground itself, or rather one of its jewels: Altenberg de Bergbieten.

This wine dedication completed ten years of work orchestrated by pioneers who had known to very early integrate the concept of soil in their step.

The AOC Altenberg

Moucheté of blue flowers in spring, the slope, in the form of half amphitheater, is in summer the paradise of the lizards which prélassent themselves on overheated stones. Its exposure to the south puts the Riesling (40% of the production) and the Gewurztraminer (30%) at the honor on 29 hectares. “In fact wines are done slowly. Two years should be waited at least before they start to be expressed” explains Frederic Mochel, the most famous vine grower of Altenberg.

The Great wine of Bergbieten is exploited by four vine growers and a co-operative. Paradox: the majority of them are of Traenheim and not of Bergbieten. More dynamic than their neighbors, they blew the vines of at side after the war while benefitting from quarrels and internal competitions.

“One awoke a little late” recognizes Roland Schmitt, a wine grower of Bergbieten which belonged to the new generation. It obtained its diplomas before launching out in the exploitation and acquiring the experiment of the wine making.

“The Great wine proves that one has and that one can make very beautiful things. It is a nudge in the right direction which ensures top-of-the-range customers and pushes to improve quality” says it. The field of Roland Schmitt is now managed by his/her Julien son.

“We were one of the first classified soils. It is the result of a very strong motivation” adds Frederic Mochel who is also president of the local wine trade union. Small, the sharp glance and sinks, it is expressed with the prudence of the men of the ground. It is a craftsman who engraves with patience his wines and speaks about it with modesty and the precision about the professional attentive with the beautiful work. At his place, before the grape harvest, one still kills the pig, transformed into pots houses and fume sausages. With the dessert, the tart flambe makes use nappée of quetsch plums or apples, and the munster is tasted with jam and a good brandy.

This gastronomical particularism draws its origin in the recent time where the vine growers were also farmers. Here, at the time of the serious attacks passed through by the vineyard, the wine growers always made use of the mixed-farming like last hope.

“This is why the old ones fought less than elsewhere, where there was no possible choice” specifies Roland Schmitt.

Underestimated by some, forgotten by others, the “northerner” vine growers of the vineyard suffer, in spite of the quality of their products, of a cruel absence of brand image. The absence of true tourist structures is not foreign there. Magnetized by Strasbourg, distant from 25 km, the valley draws very little from advantages of its privileged position. In the restaurants of the European city, only of rare wine waiters forward the wines of the “Gardens of Strasbourg put”.

Subtle, elegant, floral and framed well, Gewurz but also the Riesling of the “northerner” vineyards makes, however, left the must of the area. Launched by the attribution of name “Great wine”, their inevitable rehabilitation also passes by a redécouverte of an area to beauty intimist, without make-ups nor ornaments.

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