Alsace wine producer: Henry Fuchs, Ribauvillé

During my preparations for the 2010 Alsace trip I made contact with Thierry Meyer, without a doubt the most active and knowledgeable Alsace wine writer today, for tips on the not yet "discovered" producers. He suggested me to contact Henry Fuchs in Ribeauvillé, whose sign I've seen 100's of times and drove past the same number of times.

The Fuchs family took up viticulture in 1922, and has just gone through a generational change. The vineyards and wine-making is now administered by Paul Fuchs, who is fourth generation, having taken over after his parents Henry and Cathy. Paul has been trained in, among other regions, New Zealand and has since the mid-2000's been devoted to organic farming and production of dry, rich wines.

The domaine covers 10 hectares of with the distribution: Riesling 2.9 ha, Gewurztraminer 2.1 ha, Pinot Gris 1.9 ha , Pinot Blanc/Auxerrois 1.2, Sylvaner 0.8 ha, Pinot Noir 0.7 and Muscat 0.4 ha. Paul Fuchs is particularly proud of his Pinot Noir, which is grown on the Grand Cru Kirchberg. This sunny, dry and well drained position allows Pinot Noir to mature properly and gives - in Fuchs' version called "Rouge comme Renard" in allusion to the German word for fox, "fuchs", which is "renard" in French - an aromatic and spicy wine with body, colour and ripe tannins.

Paul Fuchs seeks to minimise the sugar content in his wines. In general, this may cause some green notes (if harvest is too early) or dangerously high alcohol levels (if fermentation is run too far), but Paul handles the balancing act well.

Henry Fuchs has a clear market segmentation of his wines in which the middle segment includes three wines: Riesling Equinoxe, Pinot Gris Tzigane and Gewurztraminer l'Ambroisie. All these wines are very high class, not least in relation to their price. Behind each name their is a clear statement, for example, Riesling Equinoxe suggests a wine that is cool, balanced (equilibré) and stored in tanks made of stainless steel (inox). Even the classic "entry-level wines" is very good indeed.

Henry Fuchs is an exciting domain, so search out the firm with the red fox. You will not regret it!

Last visit: 2010

Facts

Paul Fuchs 3, rue du 3 Décembre, Ribeauvillé +33 (0) 389 73 61 70
hfuchs@terre-net.fr
Riesling €5.90
Riesling Grand Cru Kirchberg €12 Focused, dry grape wine with character and balance. Very friendly, hospitable, and welcoming. Very good English. Grands Crus: Kirchberg
Lieux-dits: Berg

Representative wines 2010

2007 Auxerrois The aroma is very floral, fresh and complex with lilacs, peaches, walnuts, flint and Bassets Allsort. The taste has a very good attack, is dry and crisp, yet offers both substance and weight and a very pleasant salinity. 2005 Riesling Equinoxe Very typical and developed varietal scent of lemon, a touch of honey and smoke. The taste is very fresh and elegant with good acidity structure and a solid mid-palate. A wine that has aged very well. 2004 Riesling Grand Cru Kirchberg Complex aroma of honey, caramel and white flowers. The taste is medium bodied and complex with a wonderful, chalky structure on the finish, so typical of Ribeauvillé! 2005 Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Kirchberg Light and elegant fragrance, reminiscent of fresh, grated ginger over a fruit salad. Strikingly elegant, spicy and silky palate with lovely length and total lack of sugary stickiness. A wine style which manifests the style of the domain.