Agathe Bursin Muscat Bollenberg 2016
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The Bollenberg is part of 3 dry hillsides bordering the village of Westhalten. A fine layer of loess (wind blown silt sized sediment) covers the sides of the hill. This deposit, from the quartenary glaciation, was brought by the wind. It is a pale yellow silt, very fine, sandy and limestone, with very little clay. This soil is particularly favorable to the full expression of the different Alsatian varietals. The parcel of muscat, 44 years old, is a co-plantation of Muscat Ottonel (80%) and Muscat d’Alsace (20%).
Agathe Bursin was born into a family of vintners. When Agathe was a child, her grandmother let her smell wines and decide if it was dominated by "fleure" or "fruit". In the kitchen, her grandmother made Agathe close her eyes and guess what was put in her mouth. These childhood experiences have contributed to Agathes current interest in flavors and fragrances.
Located in the commune of Westhalten, about fifteen kilometers to the south of Colmar, three famous hills of calcareous formation, Zinnkoepflé, Strangenberg and Bollenberg, form a crown around the village. Westhalten is famous for its Mediterranean-like microclimate. Indeed, this area is among the driest areas of France (500 mm of precipitation per annum), because it is protected by the two highest summits in the Vosges, le Grand-Ballon and le Petit-Ballon. This feeble rainfall over ancient limestone soils (along with fossilized anemones and oyster shells) creates one of Alsace most unique terroirs.