Lucas Rieffel
Organic Winemaking in Alsace
This family estate, located in the little village of Mittelbergheim, Alsace, was already active before the war. Its first owner was Julien Rieffel, an agriculturist like many others, who one day realized he should take a deeper look at the grape vines growing on his property. From 1946 onwards, he would produce his own Sylvaner, bottle it, and then sell it. In 1971, his son André inherited the estate and decided he would expand it.
Along the years, André acquired many new parcels (such as the Grands Crus Kirchberg and Wiebelsberg) and helped the Domaine Rieffel grow. He was eventually joined by his own son Lucas, in 1996. As a disciple of André Ostertag, Lucas was just as demanding as his father and grand-father, when it came to the quality of wines. This was quickly put into effect when he started to push for more sustainable practices in the estate.
Since 2009, the estate has thus completely switched to organic winemaking and now possesses 10 hectares of vineyard. The very first organic vintage was the 2012, which was AB certified. The soft-spoken and slightly workaholic Lucas Rieffel only wants one thing: to make the purest wine possible. He's coddling his vineyard, giving grapes enough time to mature and fully express themselves, all the while limiting their yields.
Discover the wines from the Domaine Rieffel.
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