Marc Kreydenweiss Kritt Pinot Blanc 2018

Kritt is a lieu-dit outside Andlau in the Bas-Rhin, producing grapes on ferruginous clay soils that are stony and rich in quartz. The vines are around 30 years old and farmed biodynamically. Those soils pull freshness and mineral salinity into the wine while giving the fruit enough flesh to hold the wine's weight. The Pinot Blanc is vinified in old Alsatian oak foudres with native yeasts, aged on its lees for up to 15 months before bottling with minimal sulfur addition.

The 2018 vintage in Alsace was warm and dry, which delivered ripe, concentrated fruit. In the glass this is pale straw yellow with a nose of white peach, mirabelle plum, and white flowers. The palate is fresh with a taut acidic spine, showing the grip the quartz soils impart. The finish is long, saline, and clean.

Domaine Marc Kreydenweiss converted to biodynamics in 1989, among the first in Alsace to do so. Since 2007, Antoine Kreydenweiss has run the Alsace estate. The domaine holds 13.5 hectares across 25 parcels in and around Andlau, including plots in the Grand Cru vineyards Kastelberg, Wiebelsberg, Moenchberg, and Kirchberg de Barr. Kritt is certified organic through Ecocert and biodynamic through Biodyvin.