Schoenheitz Mêtis 2022

The Schoenheitz family have bottled wine since 1980 on the steep slopes of Wihr-au-Val, at the entrance to the Munster valley in Alsace, north-east France, with vineyards reaching up to 500 metres. The granitic soils and the cool, high-altitude conditions of these Vosges foothills give a pure, subtle expression of Alsatian grapes, the wide diurnal range between warm days and cold nights preserving aromatics and fresh acidity. Mêtis is an organic blend of Gewürztraminer, which brings rose, lychee and spice, and Riesling, which adds citrus drive and structure. Made as an orange wine, the blend sees skin contact that extracts phenolics and gentle tannin from the grape skins, giving golden colour, texture and a savoury grip that reins in the aromatic exuberance of the two grapes. The wine is golden in the glass. The nose shows mandarin and orange peel, grapefruit, ginger and liquorice over rose and white peach. The palate is dry and spicy, with citrus and stone fruit framed by a textured, faintly tannic finish. At 14.2 per cent it has real presence. Serve at 11 to 13 degrees.