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About Klaus Scheu

Schweigen is the last wine village on the "Deutsche Weinstrasse" before you cross the French border and drive into Wissembourg. Here we find ourselves right on the border between Palatine and Alsace, two wine regions that are geographically near but nevertheless have distinctly different wine profiles.
Many a wine grower in Schweigen posesses vineyards on both sides of the border and in that way finds himself with one foot in France and with the other in Germany. The "Weinhof Scheu" comprises 11 acres, of which a third is to be found on the "Schweigener Sonnenberg" and the other two thirds on the chalk-rich hills in France. These last vineyards are perfectly suited for the "Burgundersorten": the very mineral and fresh Weissburguner (Pinot Blanc) and Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris) of the house seem to benefit maximally from this unique terroir.
In order to develop the typicity of every grape work in field and cellar is continuously finetuned. For Klaus Scheu wine making is more than just producing high quality wines: his aim is to create wines with a character and an individuality, wines that he calls "Querköpfe": the ones that have not lost their obstinacy.

The wines of the Weinhof Scheu
Weissburgunder "VS"

Weissburgunder is the German name for Pinot Blanc, the well-known grape from the Alsace. Not only do the Germans have a different name for the grape, the wine appears to have a different expression too. This is a "Qualitätswein" (being the classification under "Kabinett") coming from a chalk-rich terroir on the French side of the border. A pale yellow with a green shine. A very intense and fresh nose with a jumpy minerality: small apples, peppermint, pistache, even a salty touch. The minerality perseveres in the flavour, together with apple and mint (and white berries). Light and fresh, but lingers for a long time. A wine to be drunk as an aperitif or with light meals and with an abundance of natural structure that keeps on fascinating untill the last drop. Rarely have we met a Pinot Blanc with such an overwhelming personality...

Grauburgunder Kabinett

Grauburgunder a.k.a. Pinot Gris. Do not expect a semi-sweet or sticky wine, Scheu makes his Burgunders extremely dry. Pinot Gris being a rose grape, this "Kabinett" colours a pale yellow with a rose gloss. Again a very mineral nose, with white roses, heavy blossoms, cavaillon and fine garden herbs. A fresh and mineral flavour with melon and apricot and a surprisingly long finish (apricot!). Typically for the Pinot Gris, the wine is rather timid when it comes to acidity. Again Scheu succeeds in reducing the grape to its essence and gives it a unique personality. Which is not a small thing with a Pinot Gris.

© DE KONING DRINKT. Last modified on 06/10/2007