DOMAINE SCHOFFIT

Bernard Schoffit is a brilliant pioneer in Alsace's greatest Grand Cru, Rangen de Thann. The domaine started by Bernard's father, Robert at 10 hectares, is situated near Colmar. 30 years ago, Bernard, then still very young, embarked on an ambitious program of buying land in Rangen, around the Clos St. Theobold. Totaling nearly 6.5 hectares, a good part of it had been abandoned because it was too steep to work. Through sheer determination and ambition, he has now reclaimed all 6.5 hectares. From these incredibly steep slopes, with extremely low yields, he is making simply extraordinary wine from each cépage he grows.

Bernard's gift for wine-making is not reserved only for his Rangen wines. In his vineyards near Colmar he practices the same rigorous approach to yields, and from a less than one hectare parcel of Riesling on Sommerberg (granite), makes one of the most brilliant wines of that varietal in all of Alsace. These yields, some very old vines and Bernard's guiding hand produce wines that are all marked by the following characteristics: intensity, very pure varietal character, great concentration of fruit on the palate and perfect acidity to balance and carry this weight into a long and brilliant finish.

Concerning our viticultural practices, all our vineyards are organic, and we also started to work biodynamic a few years ago. In order to show more transparency, I decided in 2016 to launch the official certification of the estate, but for administrative reasons it was stretched over different years. The first wines officially labeled fully organic will be some cuvées of the 2019 vintage (Harth Riesling and Harth Pinot Gris for example), and the rest of the classic range will follow in the 2020 vintage. For the Grands Crus, it will be from the 2022 vintage. The official certification for biodynamic is in progress, but we are still waiting to know from when we will be able to use it on the labels. But as we are officially in the process, we are allowed to communicate that we are bio and biodynamic!

-- Alexandre Schoffit