France · Central Alsace

Dopff au Moulin

Dopff au Moulin is a Riquewihr family winery known for bottle fermented Crémant d'Alsace and Riesling from Schoenenbourg Grand Cru.

The producer

Dopff au Moulin is a family winery in Riquewihr, Alsace, at the foot of the Schoenenbourg Grand Cru vineyard. The estate combines still Riesling wines with Crémant d'Alsace Cuvée Julien, a sparkling wine made from Pinot Blanc and Auxerrois. Julien Dopff adapted the Champagne method after seeing a demonstration at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle and training in Épernay for two years. The domaine's range includes both Alsace still wine and bottle fermented sparkling wine.

Known for

Bottle fermented Crémant d'Alsace

Notable facts

The story

The Paris Train, 1900

In the summer of 1900, Julien Dopff boarded a train from Riquewihr to Paris for the Exposition Universelle — the world's fair that brought eleven million visitors to see the Grand Palais, the new moving pictures, and the Eiffel Tower, opened just eleven years before. Dopff went for business. At the exhibition he found the Champagne producers from the Marne demonstrating their méthode champenoise: the riddling racks, the turning motion that walked sediment toward the bottle neck over days and weeks, the disgorgement that removed it. He watched, asked questions, and took notes. When he returned to Riquewihr that autumn, he applied the process to the Pinot Blanc and Auxerrois growing on the slopes above the village. No one in Alsace was producing sparkling wine this way commercially. The domaine's Crémant range — now among the most recognised in the appellation — traces directly to that train journey north and the questions Julien asked at a Paris fair in 1900.

From the atlas

Dopff au Moulin

A Riquewihr family winery with Crémant d'Alsace Cuvée Julien and Riesling wines from the Schoenenbourg Grand Cru address.

At A Glance

FieldDetail
RegionAlsace
VillageRiquewihr
Featured grapesPinot Blanc, Auxerrois and Riesling
Signature wineCrémant d'Alsace Cuvée Julien
Defining featureBottle fermented sparkling wine pioneered by Julien Dopff

The Producer

Dopff au Moulin is a family winery in Riquewihr, Alsace. Its range includes Crémant d'Alsace Cuvée Julien and Riesling wines, including a Schoenenbourg Grand Cru bottling.

The estate's history includes an early move into bottle fermented sparkling wine. Julien Dopff adapted the Champagne method in Alsace after seeing it demonstrated in Paris, then trained in Épernay before returning to produce sparkling wine with a second fermentation in bottles.

Place

Dopff au Moulin is located at the foot of the Schoenenbourg Grand Cru vineyard in Riquewihr. Grand Cru identifies a named vineyard classification, so Schoenenbourg gives one Riesling wine a specific vineyard name alongside the producer and grape.

The same Riquewihr estate makes Crémant d'Alsace and still Riesling. The two styles place bottle fermented sparkling wine beside white wine from a named Grand Cru vineyard.

Story

Julien Dopff brought bottle fermentation into Alsace after training in Épernay and adapting the Champagne method. He sold Champagne Dopff with a second fermentation in bottles, making sparkling wine in Alsace before Crémant d'Alsace had its formal appellation.

On 24 August 1976, Crémant d'Alsace was established as an AOC appellation by decree. The regional name then defined the sparkling category that had developed in Alsace through bottle fermentation.

Vineyards And Cellar

Dopff au Moulin's estate encompasses over 70 hectares of vineyard. The scale places a broad Alsace holding behind a range that includes both still and sparkling wines.

Cuvée Julien ages in bottle on lees for 14 to 24 months before disgorgement, using the traditional méthode champenoise. Lees are spent yeast cells left in the bottle after the second fermentation. Time on lees can soften the texture and add depth before disgorgement removes the sediment.

Wines

Cuvée Julien is a Crémant d'Alsace made from equal parts Pinot Blanc and Auxerrois. It is the estate's named sparkling cuvée.

Riesling appears in a Schoenenbourg Grand Cru wine and in Cuvée Europe. The range therefore covers a bottle fermented sparkling wine alongside still Riesling wines with both a named vineyard designation and a broader cuvée name.

In The Glass

Cuvée Julien smells of quince and white flowers. Its palate has a crisp apple bite balanced by creamy texture, followed by fine bubbles with good length and weight and a tangy finish.

The wine is also described through yellow plum and apple fruit, with a bready finish from its longer bottle maturation. The combination keeps the sparkling style delicate while giving the finish more depth.

A Bottle To Understand It

Dopff au Moulin Riesling Schoenenbourg Grand Cru, the 2019 Alsace Grand Cru still white wine, is the bottle to choose. Its label places Riesling beside the Schoenenbourg Grand Cru name, while the producer's Riesling profile brings pineapple and peach, floral lavender and a zesty finish.

This bottle puts the estate's still white wine beside the sparkling Cuvée Julien without confusing the two styles. The vineyard name sits directly on the label, giving the Riesling a more specific address than Cuvée Europe.

Anecdote

At the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle, Julien Dopff attended a demonstration of the Champagne method. He then trained in Épernay for two years. After returning to Alsace, he sold Champagne Dopff using a second fermentation in bottles. Julien became the first Alsatian winemaker to adapt the method, bringing bottle fermented sparkling wine into the family's work in Riquewihr. The production method arrived in Alsace before Crémant d'Alsace received its formal appellation name.

Final Word

Dopff au Moulin brings together a Riquewihr family winery, Alsace Riesling and Crémant d'Alsace made by bottle fermentation. Cuvée Julien carries the sparkling side of the range, while Schoenenbourg Grand Cru names the vineyard on one Riesling label.

Sources

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