IF the French can’t afford Champagne they’re more than likely to pop the cork of a bottle of Crémant d’Alsace.
It may not quite compete with the sophistication and complexity of the finest Champagnes, but it’s made to a reassuringly high standard and reveals an elegance and finesse all of its own.
One of the biggest and best producers of Crémant d’Alsace is the old family firm of Dopff au Moulin, whose cellars lie on the edge of the ridiculously pretty village of Riquewihr.
The Dopff family claims one of the longest traditions of winemaking in Alsace – right back to 1574. The honorary president of the firm, Pierre Dopff is now 90 and is still active in the business, which is now in its 14th generation of family ownership.
As a young man, Pierre’s father Julien visited Paris for the Great Exhibition of 1900. He was so impressed by a demonstration about how to make sparkling wine that he set out to learn more, worked for a while in Epernay, in the heart of Champagne, and determined that his family business should also make good fizz.
Under his energetic guidance they succeeded brilliantly and became the first producers in Alsace to make high-quality sparkling wine on a commercial scale. To this day, half of the wine produced by Dopff au Moulin is Crémant, the name used in France to describe a wine made in just the same way as Champagne, by a second fermentation in the bottle (‘Champagne’ can only be produced in the Champagne region from grapes grown there too.)
The grapes most commonly used to make Crémant d’Alsace are Pinot Blanc, Auxerrois, Pinot Noir, Riesling and Chardonnay. In fact, Chardonnay may only be allowed to be made into Crémant in Alsace. Still versions are banned there.
Dopff’s flagship Crémant is called Cuvée Julien, in honour of the man who first made it. It’s a blend of Pinot Blanc and Auxerrois, both white wine grapes, bought from myriad small producers on long-term contracts.
The wine is aged in the bottle for 15 to 18 months; the legal minimum is a year. It’s a lovely drink, with creamy, lemony fruit and just a touch of salty minerality. I certainly prefer it to many bargain basement Champagnes. It’s available from the Wine Society at £11.50 (www.thewinesociety.com). Dopff au Moulin also make an excellent Blanc de Noirs, a terrific, bone dry Wild Brut and a toothsome rosé, but this trio isn’t easy to find this side of the Channel ... the French know better than to let such goodies slip out of their grasp.
When I visited the Dopff cellars earlier this summer I discovered an impressive operation. The Dopff operation is truly huge. They sell 1.2 million of bottles of Crémant alone each year. But their business is not just about the ability to turn out large quantities of good wine. The Dopff family know that truly great wines can only be made from the very best grapes and they are fortunate to own significant holdings in some of the finest sites in the region.
One of the most famous of these is right beside the winery, the fabulous Grand Cru site of Schoenenbourg, where Voltaire once owned vines. Philippe Durst, Dopff’s export manager, told me that they own just less than nine hectares of land on this superb site of just over 53 hectares. It’s rather cool, clay soil, rich in gypsum, over a bed of marl, limestone and some sandstone, is ideally suited to growing Riesling.
Philippe was full of the joys of spring when I met him, because the 2008 vintage of Riesling from Schoenenbourg had just been voted best white Alsace wine costing over £10 at Decanter Magazine’s influential World Wine Awards.
It’s a terrific wine, dry, clean, lemony and with a lovely, spicy, salty complexity that really fills the mouth: a worthy winner.
Last year they won a gold medal at the same event for their 2007 Gewurztraminer from another superb Grand Cru site – Brand.
It’s a sweeter, richer, spicier wine, a lovely pale gold colour, with a glorious smell of rose petals and mint.
Yet another 2007 Grand Cru Gewurztraminer is available from The Wine Society (£17.50), this time from Sporen, which faces Schoenenbourg and has long been prized for the exquisite quality of its Gewurztraminer. Philippe told me that they would love to buy more land of their own, but little comes on the market: “Alsace has the highest vineyard prices outside Champagne,” he said.
Philippe who joined Dopff three years ago, much enjoys the family spirit in the work place and the Dopffs’ sense of pride in a long and proud tradition. But Dopff au Moulin is certainly not a business that’s set in its ways. They’re keen, for example, to convert their vineyard to an organic regime and they are equally determined to listen to their customers and to make the kind of wines they’ll enjoy drinking, such as Maru, a wine designed specially to partner sushi.
They’re willing to adapt the style of their wines to fit the tastes of particular markets. I get the impression that the Dopff family will always be innovators.
WINE EXTRAS
The big Co-ops in Alsace provide stiff competition for the independent merchant houses.
One of my favourites is the Turkheim Co-op. It produces great value wines that are utterly true to type.
Riesling 2009 (£8.99 from Majestic) is just as it should be: dry, with mouth-watering lemon and lime fruit and a hint of saltiness on the finish. It would be wonderful with fresh, slightly oily fish – trout or sea bass.
Just to the north of Alsace, there are some great discoveries to be made in the German region of the Pfalz. Palatio Pinot Grigio 2010 (£7.99 at Marks and Spencer) is a super buy. It’s dry, fresh and far zingier than any Italian Pinot Grigio – and more perfumed too, almost floral with a dash of ginger. I’d enjoy it with a creamy crab salad.
WINE OF THE WEEK
Gewurztraminer 2009 AOC Alsace, Paul Blanck £13.99 Waitrose
Superb effort from another top Alsace family firm – a dryish white for a special occasion, with a big, ripe smell of banana, spice, lychee and rose petals and a very spicy, mouth-filling flavour. Superb with really smelly cheese, or spicy prawns.