Grands Crus on limestone, granite, marl and volcanic soils all produce differing styles of wine, but is there more to it than this? Stephen Brook investigates, exclusively for Premium members...
In creating its 51 grands crus, a process which began in 1975, Alsace was following the proud French tradition of identifying its best terroirs.
This would seem to give consumers a valuable guide to a wine’s quality, but it’s more complicated than that.
Scroll down to see Stephen’s ratings on Riesling grand cru wines from this tasting
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"}
Stephen’s top Alsace terroirs for Riesling:
{}
{"wineId":"19721","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"19724","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"23210","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"19722","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"19725","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"19726","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"19727","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"19728","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"19729","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{"wineId":"19730","displayCase":"standard","paywall":true}
{}
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