At A Glance
- Field
- Detail
- Region
- Alsace
- Village
- Ammerschwihr
- Vineyard area
- 7 hectares
- Farming
- Ecocert organic and Demeter biodynamic
- Main grapes
- Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Pinot Gris and Sylvaner
- Signature wine
- Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Marckrain
- Defining feature
- Fully manual harvests and separate parcel vinification
The Producer
Most of the work at Domaine Etienne Simonis happens in the vineyard. The estate farms 7 hectares in Ammerschwihr, and its working philosophy asks for grapes to reach the cellar at their very best so winemaking can unfold without intervention.
The domaine makes Alsatian white wines from Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Pinot Gris and Sylvaner. Its approach keeps the grape and the vineyard name visible on the bottle, with Grand Cru Marckrain and Vogelgarten among the named Gewurztraminer wines.
Place
Ammerschwihr is the home village of Domaine Etienne Simonis in Alsace. Several bottles name a vineyard site alongside the grape variety. Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Marckrain places a Grand Cru site beside Gewurztraminer on the label, while Gewurztraminer Vogelgarten names another vineyard wine.
Grand Cru identifies a designated vineyard category, so the place name carries a defined site status alongside the variety.
Story
Family winemaking in Ammerschwihr reaches the late 17th century. In 1996, Etienne Simonis took primary responsibility for the family's vineyards from his father René. Katia and Etienne Simonis have managed the estate for over 25 years, continuing the family domaine from the same village and across its 7 hectares.
Vineyards And Cellar
High quality fruit is selected during fully manual harvests, and each parcel is vinified separately. The separate fermentations keep the soil specific characteristics of each parcel attached to its wine.
Flowering grasses are left uncut in the vineyards, and nesting boxes for birds and bats are installed throughout them. Vinification is natural, with sulfites added only at bottling and kept to a minimum. The wines age primarily in old demi muids, with oak tuns and Burgundy barrels also used. Old demi muids are large oak vessels that allow time in wood with less direct oak flavour than small barrels.
Wines
The range includes named Gewurztraminer wines, varietal Riesling and Pinot Gris, and Sylvaner Vieilles Vignes. Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Marckrain is the Grand Cru bottling, while Gewurztraminer Vogelgarten is another named vineyard wine. Riesling Réserve and Pinot Gris occupy varietal positions, and Sylvaner Vieilles Vignes identifies an old vine cuvée.
Marckrain has fine keeping quality, giving the range a bottle with a clear ageing role alongside its younger drinking styles.
In The Glass
Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Marckrain has an intense nose of mango and pineapple, followed by an ample palate marked by spice. It is a wine of fine keeping quality.
Gewurztraminer Vogelgarten has a fresh aroma of roses and litchi, with spicy flavor and acidity reminiscent of rhubarb. The 2008 Pinot Gris shows developed, generous scents of chocolate and pistachio, then a powerful, fruity, dry palate with an almost sandy texture. The 2008 Riesling Réserve combines apples, candy cane and pineapple with a good attack and a harmonious fruity middle palate.
Sylvaner Vieilles Vignes has electric acidity and distinct pome fruit, with the floral, brambly character associated with drier Alsatian whites.
A Bottle To Understand It
Choose Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Marckrain. It joins Gewurztraminer to the Grand Cru Marckrain designation on a single label, placing one grape beside a named vineyard category. Its fine keeping quality also gives the bottle a clear place in the cellar, alongside the estate's more immediate varietal wines.
Anecdote
At wine school in Beaune, Etienne Simonis discovered biodynamics and experienced it as an immediate revelation. Biodynamic farming treats the vineyard as a living system and uses preparations and farming rhythms intended to support soil and vine health. Etienne carried the idea into the family estate. By 1999, the entire estate had converted to biodynamic farming. The domaine now holds Demeter biodynamic certification alongside Ecocert organic certification.
Final Word
Domaine Etienne Simonis keeps Alsatian white wines tied to Ammerschwihr through biodynamic farming, named vineyard bottles and a family tradition reaching back to the late 17th century.
Sources
- www.vins-simonis.fr
- www.avenuedesvins.fr/en/nos-conseils-et-selections/post/etienne-simonis-the-alsatian-winemaker-who-brings-his-terroirs-to-life-through-biodynamic-farming.html
- www.wineroute.alsace/230106783-winery-simonis-etienne
- alsace-wine.net/p/simonis.shtml
- gonaturewines.com/blogs/alsace/domaine-simonis
- www.vins-simonis.fr/gewurztraminer-grand-cru-marckrain-s10.html
- thirstmerchants.com/products/etienne-simonis-sylvaner