Domaine Geschickt – Introduction
Domaine Geschickt is an exciting producer from Ammerschwihr in Alsace just north of Colmar who have been farming biodynamically since 1998. The small village of Ammerschwihr lies in a beautiful valley that is quite close to the pleasant town of Colmar in a northerly direction and is surrounded by grape vines that include the Grand Cru vineyards of Kaefferkopf and Wineck-Schlossberg.
The domaine was established in the 1950s by Jérôme Geschickt (hence the name) and Bernadette Meyer. Eventually the domaine came under the control of Christophe Geschickt who was very interested in how the vines grew and how to manage the vines so that they produced the best possible grapes. This led him to introduce biodynamics in 1993 as the means to manage the vines.
Fast forward to today and the domaine is now run by is now run by Aurélie Fayolle and her partner Arnaud (who is Christophe Geschickt’s son). They have continued with the biodynamic work introduced by Arnaud’s father and they also use horses in the vineyards to minimise the compaction of the soil.
They produce some classic wines including some incredible Grand Cru wines (from Kaefferkopf and Wineck-Schlossberg) as well as more modern styles of wine including a mind-blowing pet nat and some skin contact wines.
The photo above was taken in one of their vineyards. Notice the rolled grass which is allowed to grow then is rolled with a special machine so that it provides nutrients back into the soil.
As a general rule all wines are made without the addition of any sulphites, except in really bad years such as 2018 which was incredibly dry and hence there was not the normal accumulation of yeasts in the vineyards. This gave rise to very slow fermentations and the need to add some sulphites at bottling. The amount added, if any is required during maturation, is almost imperceptibly low!
The wines that we have are listed below. To find out exactly which wines are currently available it is a good idea to check our retail list on our “Buy Natural Wines” page.
Geschickt Vin d’Alsace Obi Wine 2022
This wine has everything! It is not sweet, the bead is fine, the acidity adds to the taste sensation without dominating and it lingers for a long time.
Obi Wine is made with Pinot Auxerrois, Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Muscat d’Alsace. A part was direct pressed and the Muscat d’Alsace was macerated for 15 days. It also has no added sulphites.
This is a common technique that they now use across most of their wines although the percentage of grapes that are macerated for a given cuvée may vary down to 10%.
There are no added sulphites in this wine and the alcohol level is an appealing 12.5%.
And, of course, the best thing is that it is a pet nat. We have been importing pet nats for a long time and they have become incredibly popular in Australia.
So the grapes for this one were direct pressed and the juice was then fermented in a tank. When the amount of residual sugar had reduced to a safe level (usually around 20 grams per litre), the fermenting wine was bottled.
The fermentation sometimes stops with around 3 grams of residual sugar remaining. This is a perfect amount of residual sugar to balance the acidity of the grapes and to provide the perfect balance for this to be a desirable aperitif.
The wine was disgorged to remove most of the yeast sediment that is deposited in the bottle.
It is fresh, it is vibrant, it is almost dry, it has lots of energy, it has fine bubbles and it is very, very tasty.
RRP: $64
Geschickt Crémant d’Alsace Brut Nature 2019
Made from directly pressed Pinot Blanc and Pinot Auxerrois, the Crémant was fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks. It has no dosage and a small amount of added sulphites.
This is a beautiful wine that is VERY easy to drink. It is soft, it is subtle and it is quite delicious.
The two types of Pinot blend together beautifully with the Pinot Auxerrois lending structure to the more delicate Pinot Blanc.It seems that we always like the structure and texture of wines that include a reasonable level of Pinot Auxerrois.
This wine meets the requirements of the Cremant d’Alsace appellation which covers sparkling wines of this type, and, as an added bonus it is certified organic by Ecocert so you don’t have to worry about ingesting nasty spray residues in the wine.
All round this is a very pleasant wine at a very reasonable price!
RRP: $59
Geschickt Crémant d’Alsace Double Zero 2020
A crémant sparkling wine which is called double zero because, as Aurelie Fayolle explained to us it usually has zero sulphites and zero added sugar (dosage). It is an “assemblage” of two grape varieties this year (previously it has been four), namely Pinot Blanc and Pinot Auxerrois. The grapes were picked by hand then pressed slowly in a pneumatic press.
The first fermentation was entirely with natural yeasts. The wine was then bottled for the second fermentation and the wine was matured “sur latte” to gain extra complexity.
Unusually this is a negoce wine, with the grapes sourced from a colleague in the village who works organically. The last estate Crémant was from the 2018 vintage. There will be another from the 2022 vintage.
RRP: $54 (SOLD OUT)
Geschickt Vin de France W.S. Riesling Pet-Nat 2017
This is an amazing pet’nat but we only bought a small quantity. It is made from grapes that grow on a south-facing granitic slope in the famous Wineck-Schlossberg Grand Cru vineyard.
The wine was fermented naturally and was bottled before the fermentation finished to ensure that the bubbles would be created.
It was also not disgorged so some of the dead yeasts remain in the bottle to add texture to the wine. The bubbles are incredibly fine and not at all aggressive.
This is a fine example of an elegant pet’nat that can be enjoyed for a few years, we suspect.
RRP: $66 (SOLD OUT)
Geschickt Vin d’Alsace Edelzwicker 1 litre 2019
We are delighted to have received this firm favourite again!
Let us explain the meaning behind the name. There are two generic wines in Alsace made from blends of their grapes known as Edelzwicker and Gentil.
Gentil is a somewhat restricted blend of nominated grape varieties where there must be at least 50% of Alsace “noble grapes” which are Riesling, Muscat, Pinot Gris and/or Gewürztraminer, and the rest can be either Sylvaner, Chasselas and/or Pinot Blanc.
The difference, up until recently, is that Edelzwicker (Edel stands for Noble and Zwicker means Blending) could only be made of any combination of the four noble grapes, Riesling, Muscat, Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer.
However, the deregulation of this term means that any grapes can be used to produce the blend whether they are so-called “noble grapes” or not.
So, this vintage (2019) it is a wine which uses the final part from the pressing of all the white grapes (i.e. all the different wines including Riesling, Muscat, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Sylvaner). It was aged in foudre for 12 months. No added sulphites. 13.5% ABV.
It is very easy to drink and very good value.
RRP: $41 for 1 litre bottle (SOLD OUT)
Geschickt Vin d’Alsace ‘Phenix’ Pinot Gris 2022
Predominantly Pinot Gris (80%), this wine also
has some Pinot Auxerrois and some lees from Pinot Noir which was picked earlier that week and then pressed (for the colour).
It’s macerated for 1 month in stainless steel then, after fermentation, aged for 8 months in foudre. It has no added sulphites.
Like the maceration Pinot Gris we import from Jean Ginglinger this one is a deep pinky orange colour. The maceration continued for one month which has nicely developed the colour and the tannin structure in this wine. It was matured in steel tanks.
One extra bonus of maceration white wines (which are also called skin contact wines or orange wines) is that they match beautifully with a wide range of foods. In fact, you can drink them right through a meal.
It will improve and soften over two or three days after opening making it a great wine for restaurants to pour by the glass. An additional feature of this bottle is that it has a glass stopper therefore no corked bottles!
RRP: $64 (SOLD OUT)
Geschickt Vin d’Alsace Riesling Holderbaum 2022
This is always a stunning Riesling of wonderful length and minerality made from grapes picked from various parcels around the village of Ammerschwihr.
The vines have been managed biodynamically since 1998 and hence have become stronger and more resilient as a result.
This wine contains grapes only from the 2022 vintage as opposed to the previous years, from vineyards to the east and south-east of Ammerschwihr, including Holderbaum, Prediger and Birgele.
This wine from vineyards to the east and south-east of Ammerschwihr, including Holderbaum, Prediger and Birgele. Holderbaum, which is south-east of the village makes up 80% of the wine so it provides its name.
The 2022 is a surprisingly vivid wine that jumps out of the glass with vigour and vitality showing the quality of the fruit from which this wine was made. It is just so energetic!
RRP: $54
Geschickt Vin d’Alsace Côtes d’Ammerschwihr 6 Pieds sur Terre 2018
When the French refer to vines in the vineyard, they refer to the number of vines in terms of “pieds” or feet. Each vine constitutes a “pied” which is from where the name is derived.
The name also is a joke referring to 6 feet underground. This is typical of so many wine labels in the natural wine movement where the name on the label has at least two, and sometimes more, meanings!
The name also refers to the fact that 6 different grape varieties were included in this wine in equal quantities. They are Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Muscat d’Alsace, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc.
Some of the Muscat d’Alsace was macerated to provide extra complexity and stability to the wine.
The wine exhibits lots of minerality and very appealing acidity.
The juice was transferred to an old foudre where it matured for 18 months. It was then bottled and closed with a glass stopper.
The grapes for this wine were picked from the hills above the village where Geschickt has their winery, hence the reference to Côtes d’Ammerschwihr. This means that the vines are outside the Grand Cru Kaefferkopf area but are worthy of attention due to the quality of the grapes picked in this area.
RRP: $64 (SOLD OUT)
Geschickt Vin d’Alsace Pino 2018
This is a blend of four Pinot grape varieties, namely Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Auxerrois with some of the Pinot Gris coming from two parcels within the amazing Grand Cru Kaefferkopf vineyard (one part granitic and the other marne and limestone) for added complexity.
The other varieties, from parcels on the edge of the village, have much more clay.
The vines are planted in complex terroir in several plots around Ammerschwihr which sees soils made from alluvial clay, marl, granite and limestone. This is fortunate because Pinot Auxerrois has a particular affinity for limestone and when grown in limestone also adds weight to a blend.
Pinot Auxerrois is also known simply as Auxerrois and is a child of the grapes varieties Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc and is native to the Alsace and nearby Lorraine and Mosel.
The wine is blended and put in old wooden foudres to mature for 18 months. The wine is not fined or filtered and one gram of sulphites was added. No added sulphites. 13% ABV.
RRP: $54
Geschickt Vin d’Alsace Le Schlouk 2020
The name for this wine derives from the fact that it is mainly Gewürztraminer but with an added splash (schlouk) of Riesling to freshen it up. The amount of Riesling added this year was 20%.
As you can see from the label, schlouk also means a “sip” or a “splash” in French.
The grapes were picked from vines that range from 20 years to 60 years old from various parcels above the quiet village of Ammerschwihr.
A small part of the Riesling was macerated to provide extra complexity to the wine. This is a process that is being more widely adopted in Alsace recently as the results are truly excellent.
The grapes were combined in the press and pressed together.
RRP: $54 (SOLD OUT)
Geschickt Grand Cru Kaefferkopf Riesling 2019
A Riesling hand-harvested from the complex terroir of the Grand Cru Kaefferkopf vineyard where the vines are old and the yield is very low. It was aged for 14 months in foudre and old barriques.
This eastern-facing vineyard which sits at about 300 metres above sea level is very famous and thoroughly deserves the Grand Cru status.
The soils are derived from both granite and limestone which are responsible for the complex minerality found in wines made from these vines.
Geschickt has two Grand Cru parcels in Kaefferkopf. The first is le Purberg where the soil is limestone and clay and the second is le Pfulben which sees granite rocks protruding from fairly fine siltstone.
14% ABV.
RRP: $77 (SOLD OUT)
Geschickt Grand Cru Kaefferkopf Pfulben 2019
The difference between this Riesling and the one above is that the grapes come from a single plot within the Kaefferkopf Grand Cru area. The Kaefferkopf Grand Cru area occupies the plains and hills around the lovely village of Ammerschwihr.
The vineyards are facing west and south and have an inclination of between 5% and 35% (which is getting quite steep). The higher areas are covered in granitic rocks and the lower in sandy limestone.
The Grand Cru area is divided into a number of smaller areas which are called “lieu-dit” which are “named places” which tend to be chosen because of the rock type, exposure and other features.
So this wine is made entirely from grapes grown in the Pfulben lieu-dit and comprises Gewurztraminer (60%), Riesling (30%) and Pinot Gris (10%). Predominantly direct-press but a small portion of the Riesling was macerated for 10 days. The soil in the Pfulben lieu-dit is granitic.
The wine was aged in foudre. Minimal sulphites added. 14% ABV.
RRP: $77
Geschickt Grand Cru Kaefferkopf Purberg 2021
The Purberg lieu-dit is also in the Grand Cru Kaefferkopf area described above (Kaefferkopf means beetle head in Alsatian so you can see a beetle prominently displayed on the label) however is lower down the slopes and therefore the soil changes from granite to limestone and clay.
The Gewurztraminer was macerated for 30 days and the remainder was direct pressed and added to the macerating juice. The press was light to try to keep some juice in the pomace which went to Cantillon to make a beer (see below). After pressing it spent one year in foudre.
You will notice that the word “orange” is displayed on the front label shown on the left.
One effect of the 30 days of maceration is that the wine has taken on quite a bit of colour from the anthocyanins in the skin of the grapes.
No added sulphites.
RRP: $89
Geschickt AOC Alsace Grand Cru Kaefferkopf Gewürztraminer 2016
This is an oxidative wine from the 2016 vintage. It is made from 100% directly-pressed Gewurztraminer taken from some barrels which formed a very fine flor.
It’s also from the same part of the Cru as the Purberg (i.e. limestone and clay). It was aged for 6 years in barrels that were not topped up and then one year in bottle.
It keeps well once opened and its salinity makes it sherry-like with the added complexity that Gewurztraminer guarantees.
The grape is related to Savagnin but not directly (even though it is roughly translated as ‘spicy traminer’) and the Traminer grape variety is the same as Savagnin. Savagnin has a mutated form called Savagnin Rose (many other white grapes have a Rose mutation) and Gewürztraminer is a variant of Savagnin Rose.
This an absolutely delicious wine which derives power and elegance from the complex limestone and granite soils in this magnificent Grand Cru vineyard.
This wine will last for a long time and will pair with a wide range of foods.
RRP: $113
Geschickt Grand Cru Wineck-Schlossberg 2020
Unlike the 2018 vintage which was a very dry year for Geschickt , 2020 was a better vintage with higher temperatures and more water available.
The wine in 2020 was first macerated in the manner that Geschickt is adopting for all the white wines now.
The technique they are using is to macerate some of the juice on the skins for a short period of time to increase the phenolic content of the wine.
Half of the Riesling grapes were macerated for 30 days and the other half were directly pressed and the juice transferred to steel tanks. At the end of the thirty days of maceration the macerated juice was blended with the direct press juice. The wine was then matured in amphora for a further 12 months.
This is an amazing wine of power and concentration, which really shows off the place from which it was derived. The vineyard faces south and has a small forest on the western side. The granitic soils of the Wineck-Schlossberg Grand Cru vineyard certainly deliver great wines!
No added sulphites and 13.5% ABV.
RRP: $84
Geschickt Vin d’Alsace Pinot Noir 2022
This beautiful Geschickt Pinot Noir was made from grapes picked from their vineyards Soot and Hochstaden where the yields are very low. However, low yields often produce much better wines as fewer grapes are competing for the goodness being fed into the vines from the soil which is derived from clay and limestone.
The grapes for this wine were destemmed then macerated for a week. During that time it was pumped over 2 or 3 times. After pressing it was aged in foudre. It has no added sulphites.
After a careful selection of grapes for ripeness the juice is macerated on skins for 10 days before pressing and then transfer to old wooden foudre and old barrels (barriques) where it matured for 14 months.
The wine is not fined or filtered. The bottle is closed with a DIAM closure.
RRP: $64
Geschickt Vin d’Alsace Pinot Noir K Sonnenberg 2022
This Pinot Noir from Geschickt was made from 2 parcels within the Kaefferkopf Grand Cru vineyard. (Notice the “beetle” motif being used again as this is the translation of the vineyard name.)
The first parcel is granite and 50% of the grapes were harvested here and the rest of the grapes were harvested from the limestone area of the vineyard.
This wine is made with Pinot Noir from the granitic part of the Kaefferkopf Grand Cru. However, it cannot be designated as from Kaefferkopf because Grand Cru wines from here must be predominantly Gewurztraminer.
Only the K in the name hints at it source. Sonnenberg is the name of the lieu-dit where it comes from. it used to be part of a wine called K, which we have had in the past, but they decided to separate it because of its superior quality. It is lightly extracted and aged in foudre.
The grapes were pressed together and then the juice was transferred to old Burgundy barrels to mature.
RRP: $113
Geschickt Vin d’Alsace Grand Cru Kaefferkopf 2016
This beautiful Geschickt wine combines three different grape varieties all of which were sourced from the Grand Cru Kaefferkopf vineyard. (Geschickt is fortunate to have a number of plots within the amazing Kaefferkopf vineyard.)
The grapes are Gewurztraminer (60%), Riesling (30%) and Pinot Gris (10%) all of which thrive on this highly regarded site.
This is an absolutely stunning wine which has gained complexity and tone from the five years it has been maturing.
It is interesting to note that this wine actually clocks in at a high 15% alcohol, however when drinking it there is not a hint of this level. It is just SO balanced.
At a recent tasting we were delighted to see that some very savvy wine drinkers thought exactly the same as us about this very special Grand Cru wine.
RRP: $113 (SOLD OUT)
Geschickt Grand Cru Kaefferkopf Khépri 2020
This is the first time that Geschickt has used an amphora to mature one of the wines – and an amazing feat it has been!
The grapes have come from the incredible terroir of the Kaefferkopf Grand Cru vineyard which sits just behind the village of Ammerschwihr. This Grand Cru is somewhat of an aberration in Alsace as all other Grand Crus are a single site whereas this one has three separate sites each on limestone and granite soils.
The other difference with this Grand Cru is that it is possible to make wines that are not single variety wines which is the case with this one.
The label above has a person holding a beetle of their face. This is because Kaefferkopf means beetle head.
The wine was matured in an amphora named after Khepri who was an Egyptian god. The grape varieties are Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
The grapes underwent skin maceration for a massive 200 days and then after one month the juice was bottled without the addition of any sulphites. 14% ABV.
RRP: $95
Geschickt Beetle Juice No 2
This is a fascinating wine from Geschickt, both because it tastes fantastic and also because of the story behind the wine.
Geschickt is planting 70 trees per year (including a lot of fruit trees) within the vineyards to increase the biodiversity and to ensure that there is additional shade in the vineyard as the summers get hotter and hotter.
This is a skin contact Gewürztraminer picked from the Purberg vineyard that lies within the Kaefferkopf zone where the soil in predominately limestone. The juice was macerated for a month with large cherries growing in the vineyard of the Coeur de Pigeon variety. The cherries were picked in late May and added (with pips) to the Gerwurtztraminer juice from the same vineyard but from the previous vintage. This worked out to be a eighty-twenty split between the grapes and the cherries.
The wine was matured in a steel tank and then bottled by hand early so that it would retain its freshness. It is lightly sparkling and a light red colour, making it a very attractive drink. It is 12% alcohol and with no added sulphites. It is closed with a Crown Seal, but be careful because it is fairly lively!
RRP: $77 (SOLD OUT)
Geschickt Vin d’Alsace Cadavre Exquis NV
Cadavre Exquis, of which we have a tiny quantity, is a solera from Geschickt which began in 2015 and has been added to each year since.
It is in an old 26 hectolitre foudre from which a proportion is taken off each year and replaced with a new vintage.
This first draw, bottled at the end of 2019 contains the vintages 2015 through to 2018. This year it also contains wine from the 2019 vintage.
The grapes are all the pinots (basically the same wine as Le Pino – Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Auxerrois – which grow in limestone and granite soils. Only 1300 bottles were made in this second tirage.
And what about the “exquisite corpse”? This derives from a game that was played by the French Surrealist artists of the late 1920s and early 1930s. One person would write down one word on a piece of paper, fold it over to hide the word then pass it to the next person to add another word.
The first sentence they formed was “Le cadavre exquis boira le vin nouveau” which in English reads as “The exquisite corpse will drink the young wine”.
When the Geschickt family described how the wine was made to their artist friend STom500 (who also did the labels for Phenix, Le Pino their pet-nat) he immediately thought of the story of the surrealist game and said “Ah yes! like a cadavre exquis” (each vintage is a part of the work, without knowing what the next will make).
And so the wine was named. In keeping with its inspiration STom500 asked three of his Alsace artist friends to each draw part without consulting with each other and then joined them together to form the beautiful label.
At a recent tasting everyone was blown away by the complexity of the wine. It opened up slowly but soon revealed gorgeous oxidative notes, complex, lifted fruit and incredible length. This is an amazing wine, but we only have a tiny amount available!
14% ABV.
RRP: $101 (SOLD OUT)
Geschickt One Drop 2022
One Drop is a new cuvée, made with grapes grown by a friend, Sandrine, who is part way through the process of obtaining organic certification. Harvested by the Geschickt team, it is the blending of two vats prior to bottling.
One was juice from a mix of Chasselas, Muscat d’Alsace, and Gewurztraminer, which was macerated for two weeks. The other was a direct press of Riesling, Pinot Blanc and Gewurztraminer, from grapes picked one week later.
The grapes are sourced from 10 different plots around the village. It was bottled in spring with 6 grams / litre of residual sugar. It has no added sulphites.
A proportion of the profit from this wine is donated to a charity operating in Mali.
RRP: $50
You can read more about their wines on the Geschickt Web site.
