Alsace's Grand Cru covers fifty-one individual vineyard sites and the AOC laws dictate which grapes can be grown in each. The yield specifications are much lower than regular AC wines (60 hl/a). In general, Grand Cru sites must be made from one of the four ‘noble varieties': riesling, gewürztraminer, pinot gris or muscat; though exceptions have been made for Zotzenberg, where sylvaner is permitted, and for Altenberg de Berheim where blends are permitted.
The Alsace Grand Cru wines are controversial and the convention is not accepted by all growers in the region. Some producers elect to forgo the Grand Cru appellation they are entitled to in favor of traditional or brand names. Theoretically, a Grand Cru should be a guarantee of quality, but this is not necessarily the case. The rule of thumb here is similar to the one in Burgundy: find a producer you trust. There are many sub-par wines grown on Grand Cru sites and many exceptional wines that do not use the Grand Cru system.
That said, we have provided a list of all fifty-one cru vineyard sites in Alsace, with their prevailing soil types and vineyard areas (in hectares) in order to give readers an efficient means of assessing the general profiles of the wines produced therein. Larger Grand Cru sites have more variable conditions throughout the vineyard and are less likely to be consistent throughout the site. Further, we have placed asterisks by those crus that are producing the highest quality wines.
Remember the following basic rules when trying to gauge the wines from the list below:
- In general, rockier flint, granite and schist soils tend to give wines an oily, petrol and gunflint character (especially with riesling).
- heavy clay and marl give weight and broad fruit flavors.
- sandy limestone soils give wines with finesse.
- Java lovers come here to discover the company that introduced the idea of grand cru coffee to French gastronomy. With an approach to coffee inspired by wine, founder Hippolyte Courty imports single estate, biodynamically grown, single variety coffees, fermented and roasted with precision to unveil maximum complexity, and to create an espresso.
- Come discover the Brand Grand Cru among the exceptional Alsace wines from a unique terroir with ideal exposure. Tastes & Colours Dinner is served! Use the interactive map ». In the central part of the Grand Cru, granite rock is topped with a layer of arena 5 to 8 metres thick, thus allowing the root system to grow very deep.
Listing of Grand Cru Vineyard Sites:
Altenberg de Bergbieten : marl – limestone – gypsum, 29 ha.
Altenberg de Bergheim : marl – limestone, 35.1 ha; very good riesling and gewürztraminer.
Hugel & Fils Gewurztraminer Alsace (White) 0.375L 2007 HK90 Lemon yellow in color, vanilla and lychee flavors, grapefruit on finish FR190 Hugel & Fils Gewurztraminer Jubilee 2005/2006 HK385 Grand Cru rated. RP rating 90 points FR189 Hugel & Fils Gewurztraminer Traditional 2006/2007 HK218 Rose petal, peach & white pepper. The legendary 170-km-long Alsace Wine Route passes through a string of picturesque villages, well-known wine-producing towns and exceptional landscapes. Boasting 7 grape varietals and treasured Grand Cru wines, it awakens all of your senses.
Altenberg de Wolxheim : marl – limestone, 31.2 ha.
*Brand : granite, 17.7 ha; exceptional gewürztraminer.
Bruderthal : marl – limestone, 18.4 ha.
Eichberg : marl – limestone, 57.6 ha; particularly good gewürztraminer.
Engelberg : marl – limestone, 14.8 ha.
Florimont : marl – limestone, 21 ha.
Frankstein : granite, 56.2 ha.
Froehn : clay – marl, 14.6 ha; muscat wines are exceptional.
Furstentum : limestone, 30.5 ha.
Geisberg : marl – limestone – sandstone, 8.5 ha; very good riesling.
Gloeckelberg : marl – limestone, 23.4 ha.
*Goldert : marl – limestone, 45.4 ha; excellent muscat.
Hatschbourg : marl – limestone – loess, 47.4 ha.
*Hengst : marl – limestone – sandstone, 75.8 ha; exceptional gewürztraminer.
Kaefferkopf : granite – limestone – sandstone, 71.7 ha.
Kanzlerberg : very heavy clay – gypsum – marl, 3.2 ha.
*Kastelberg : shale, 5.8 ha; very good riesling.
Kessler : sand – clay, 28.5 ha.
Kirchberg de Barr : marl – limestone, 40.6 ha.
*Kirchberg de Ribeauvillé : marl – limestone – sandstone, 11.4 ha; very good riesling and muscat.
Kitterlé : sandstone – volcanic, 25.8 ha.
Mambourg : marl – limestone, 61.8 ha.
Mandelberg : marl – limestone, 22 ha.
Marckrain : marl – limestone, 53.4 ha.
Moenchberg : marl – limestone – gravel, 11.8 ha.
Muenchberg : stone – sandstone – volcanic, 17.7 ha.
Ollwiller : sand – clay, 35.9 ha.
Osterberg : marl, 24.6 ha; very good riesling.
Pfersigberg : limestone – sandstone, 75.5 ha; good muscat.
Pfingstberg : marl – limestone – sandstone, 28.2 ha.
Praelatenberg : granite – gneiss, 18.7 ha.
*Rangen : volcanic, 18.8 ha; outstanding pinot gris and riesling.
Rosacker : dolomitic limestone, 26.2 ha; site of Trimbach's Clos Ste-Hune; Trimbach does not support the Grand Cru classification, so the wine made from this site only indicates Clos Ste-Hune and will not say ‘Grand Cru Rosacker'.
*Hengst : marl – limestone – sandstone, 75.8 ha; exceptional gewürztraminer.
Kaefferkopf : granite – limestone – sandstone, 71.7 ha.
Kanzlerberg : very heavy clay – gypsum – marl, 3.2 ha.
*Kastelberg : shale, 5.8 ha; very good riesling.
Kessler : sand – clay, 28.5 ha.
Kirchberg de Barr : marl – limestone, 40.6 ha.
*Kirchberg de Ribeauvillé : marl – limestone – sandstone, 11.4 ha; very good riesling and muscat.
Kitterlé : sandstone – volcanic, 25.8 ha.
Mambourg : marl – limestone, 61.8 ha.
Mandelberg : marl – limestone, 22 ha.
Marckrain : marl – limestone, 53.4 ha.
Moenchberg : marl – limestone – gravel, 11.8 ha.
Muenchberg : stone – sandstone – volcanic, 17.7 ha.
Ollwiller : sand – clay, 35.9 ha.
Osterberg : marl, 24.6 ha; very good riesling.
Pfersigberg : limestone – sandstone, 75.5 ha; good muscat.
Pfingstberg : marl – limestone – sandstone, 28.2 ha.
Praelatenberg : granite – gneiss, 18.7 ha.
*Rangen : volcanic, 18.8 ha; outstanding pinot gris and riesling.
Rosacker : dolomitic limestone, 26.2 ha; site of Trimbach's Clos Ste-Hune; Trimbach does not support the Grand Cru classification, so the wine made from this site only indicates Clos Ste-Hune and will not say ‘Grand Cru Rosacker'.
Saering : marl – limestone – sandstone, 26.8 ha.
Schlossberg : granite, 80.3 ha.
Schoenenbourg : marl – sand – gypsum – limestone, 53.4 ha.
Sommerberg : granite, 28.4 ha; very good riesling.
Sonnenglanz : marl – limestone, 32.8 ha.
Spiegel : marl – sandstone, 18.3 ha.
Sporen : stone – clay – marl, 23.7 ha; very good pinot gris and gewürztraminer.
Steinert : limestone, 38.9 ha.
Alsace Grand Cru Map Champagne
Steingrubler : marl – limestone – sandstone, 23 ha.
Steinklotz : limestone, 40.6 ha.
Vorbourg : limestone – sandstone, 72.6 ha.
Wiebelsberg : sand – sandstone, 12.5 ha.
Wineck-Schlossberg : granite, 27.4 ha.
Winzenberg : granite, 19.2 ha.
Alsace Grand Cru Vineyards
Zinnkoepflé : limestone – sandstone, 68.4 ha.
Zotzenberg : marl – limestone, 36.4 ha; only Grand Cru site allowed to use sylvaner; very high quality sylvaner produced.
Alsace Grand Cru Map
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