Domaine Welty Bélénus Gewürztraminer 2023 (Alsace) - Wine Review

Tonight's white wine review is a beautiful, organic, and off-dry Gewürztraminer from Alsace that made its debut at the LCBO last month. It arrived as part of the feature on Great Wines for Takeout Nights in the August 15 LCBO VINTAGES New Release Collection and would be ideal for pairing with spicy dishes such as Thai or Indian curries.

It is produced by Domaine Welty, a small, family-run winery situated in the commune of Orschwihr in southern Alsace, at the foot of the Bollenberg hill. The family's story began when M. Welty planted her first vines in 1738 on the dry and arid hills of the Bollenberg. Eight generations later, the Welty family continues with the same faith and passion, with a beautiful family history that binds them strongly to the land, vineyard, and wine.

The modern era of Domaine Welty began in 1984, when Jean-Michel took over management of the estate from his father, Fernand. As the seventh generation of the family, Jean-Michel gradually doubled the vineyard size to what is now 14 hectares of vines. In 2012, Jean-Michel was joined by his son, Jérémy, who represented the eighth generation of the family and brought a wind of freshness to the domaine, including new ideas and cultivation techniques – specifically organic agriculture. In 2018, the domaine received its Organic Farming certification, while Jérémy also took over winemaking responsibilities. In 2021, Jérémy took over the domaine from his father.

Since the beginning, the Welty family's daily work has been guided by their conviction that nature will give them what they have given it. Every day they apply with passion and fervor the principles of organic farming, observing the virtues that it generates in the vineyard. Additionally, by cultivating their vines organically, they have gained a better understanding of the vineyard. They have also begun implementing new processes, in particular developing decoctions in order to carry out homeopathic vine treatments. Today, the philosophy at Domaine Welty has evolved strongly in order to listen to nature, respect it, understand it, and seek balance. This allows the family to produce the most natural wines possible, along with the purest expression of their terroir.

Domaine Welty has several ranges of wines, with this particular wine coming from their "Blancs de Terroir" range, a group of terroir-driven white wines. It is crafted using 100% Gewürztraminer that was organically grown on clay-limestone soils. The name Bélénus is associated with the Bollenberg hill near the domaine's vineyards. Belenus (or Belenos) was an ancient Celtic deity whose name is generally associated with brightness, light, and the sun, making the name a fitting reference to the dry Bollenberg hill and its excellent exposure to the sun.

To craft this Gewürztraminer, the grapes were hand-harvested and placed in small crates. Upon arriving at the winery, the whole grapes were direct-pressed using a pneumatic press, and then fermented using indigenous yeasts in stainless steel vats at a controlled temperature. It was matured on fine lees until bottling.

The growing season in Alsace in 2023 began with a dry and mild winter, followed by a cool and wet March, which pushed budburst beyond the reach of early April frosts. While April remained wet and cool, May brought summer warmth, particularly towards the end of the month, followed by flowering and significant heat during the first two weeks of June. Gewürztraminer fared well in the weather conditions as July remained warm and dry, however, drought was becoming problematic. The end of July and early August was cooler and wetter, while dry heat arrived towards the end of the month. Due to the dry conditions, phenolic maturity was unusually ahead of sugar maturity, which resulted in harvest taking place a little bit later than anticipated. From another excellent vintage (8th out of the last 9 years), let's see how this 2023 Gewürztraminer from Alsace is tasting tonight...

Tasting Note:

DOMAINE WELTY BÉLÉNUS GEWÜRZTRAMINER 2023 - AOC Alsace, France (#49863) (M) - $25.95
This organic Gewürztraminer from Alsace has a lovely, intense, medium-high to highly aromatic nose with perfumed aromas of lychee, rose floral, yellow fruit, and citrus with touches of spice. The rich, weighty, medium-full bodied palate has very good concentration with lovely lychee, rose floral, citrus, yellow fruit, and spice replays in an off-dry flavour profile. It's framed by fresh, lively acidity that tempers the sweetness. Clean and well-balanced throughout with leesy, mineral, and spice notes lingering on the long, savoury, and textured finish. Highly recommended buy! Score: 91 pts

Other lovely wines by Domaine Welty can be ordered through their Agent - KOLONAKI Group of Companies.