Alsace Grand Cru: Joseph Cattin Riesling Hatschbourg

Alsace is unique among the French wine regions due to its German influences, which play an equal role in sculpting the area's language, traditions - and even its wines. Many of its slopes face east, benefiting from plenty of sunlight, as well as a very special variety of 'terroir' made up of granite, limestone, clay, loam, and volcanic soils. Alsace shares the River Rhine with Germany as a common border. Its summers are hot and sunny, and it is the driest region in France after Roussillon in the south.

Alsace Grand Cru is the region's top appellation, reserved for wines from 51 delimited vineyard sites recognised for their superior terroir. It applies almost exclusively to the four "noble" grape varieties — Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, and Muscat — each vinified as a single variety and labelled with its specific lieu-dit. Yields are lower and regulations stricter than for standard Alsace AOC, resulting in wines of greater concentration, complexity, and ageing potential. They range from dry to richly sweet, expressing the distinctive character of each individual site.