Jean-Baptiste Adam
Crèmant d’Alsace Brut Rosé – NV
Region: FRANCE - ALSACE
Jean-Baptiste Adam
For more than 400 years, Jean-Baptiste Adam and his family have been grape growers and winemakers in Ammerschwihr. Throughout the centuries the Adam family has farmed vineyards, made wine, sold wine locally and sold wine in foreign lands. They survived the Thirty Years War (1618-1648), the Valois and Bourbon dynasties, the French Revolution, the Napoleonic wars, annexation by Germany and back to France, WWI, WWII, famine and disease.
Jean-Batiste V joined the winery in 1982, at the age of 21, after finishing his studies of wine, enology, and marketing. In 1996, Jean-Baptiste took over full management of the property from his father, Jean-Marie. Soon after taking charge of the company, he modernized the winery and created a processing and storage facility for the production of Crémant. In 2003, he converted the vineyards to biodynamic agriculture wholeheartedly and they are DEMETER certified since 2007. Today, he is considered a leader of biodynamic farming practices in Alsace.
Jean-Baptiste’s daughter, Laure, is the 15th generation to work in the family business. Armed with a BS in Viticulture and Enology, a Wine and Commerce license, and a master’s degree in Wine Management & Marketing, she is an integral part of all winery, viticulture and trade operations.
Jean-Baptiste Adam produces wines of elegance, balance, minerality and longevity.
The Wine
Vineyard Profile
- Size of vineyard (acres): 6
- Soil composition: Granite
- Training method: Double Guyot
- Elevation (feet):656
- Vines/acre: 2850
- Yield/acre (hl):29.54
- Exposure: Southeast
- Year vineyard planted: from 1975 to 2010
Harvest Notes
- Harvest time: beginning September.
- Fermentation container: century wooden cask.
- Length of alcoholic fermentation: between 1 to 3 months.
- Fermentation temperature: controlled from 68 to 76ºF.
- Aging container: century wooden cask.
- Size of aging containers: 317 – 2060 gallons (12hl to 78hl)
- Cooperage: French.
- Length of aging before bottling: 6 months.
- Length of bottle aging minimum: 18 months.
Winemaker's Notes
This crémant, made with Pinot Noir, has a nice salmon dress. On the nose, it expresses notes of currants and red fruits. On the palate, fine bubbles will caress the palate, then the fleshy side of the fruit is revealed.
- By law color is derived at time of crush from grape skins (Saignée). Adding red wine at dosage is not allowed in Alsace.
Wine Summary
Made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes; vines planted 1975 – 2010; grown in granite soils; fermented in century wooden cask at 68°F to 76°F; aged 6 months in wooden cask, bottled, and after 2nd fermentation, a minimum of 18 months aging in the bottle before release.
Technical Information
- 100% Pinot Noir
- Alcohol: 12%
- pH level: 3.25
- Residual sugar (grams/liter): 7.0
- Acidity H2SO4 (grams/liter): 3.84.
Reviews
90 Points
Bright pink with a good bead of persistent bubbles. Strawberry and redcurrant mingle with herbs on the livey nose and nicely textured palate. Enetrs sharp and lively, then turns creamier in the middle, finishing bright and refreshing on the nicely persistent close. Drinking window: now-2025
Terroir Sense - Ian D'Agata, October, 2021
91 Points
Bright, very pale pink. Delicate aromas and flavors of small red berries, candied rhubarb and herbs. Starts dry and herbal, then sweeter and fruitier in the middle. Finishes long with a spicy kick. Made with 100% Pinot Noir that macerated on the skins directly in the press for about four hours, so very little color was leached out, explaining the wine’s onion-peel color. More serious and complex than some past excessively fruity and candied versions of this bubbly; it clearly resembles Champagne more than many other Alsace crémants do.
Vinous, April, 2018
91 Points
Notes of lemon, red apple and strawberry combine on the nose of this wine. The palate likewise combines lemon freshness, apple texture and strawberry aroma. Fine foam accentuates the fruit and freshness makes everything lively. The body is slender and dry but full of fruit.
Wine Enthusiast, November, 2020
90 Points
Light pink with white cherry, rose and lemon flavors. It has a pleasant mousse, that makes it round and balanced, on the long finish infused with fleur de sel notes.
Wine Enthusiast, December, 2024
General Info
| Country | France |
| Region | Alsace |
| Appellation(s) | AOP ALSACE – AOP CREMANT D’ALSACE- AOP ALSACE GRAND CRU -AOP VENDANDES TARDIVES- AOP SELECTION DE GRAINS NOBLES |
| Proprietors | Jean-Baptiste Adam, Laure Adam |
| Founded | 1614 |
| Winemaker | Mathilde Jaegler and Philippe Ruhlmann |
| Annual Production | 50,000 to 66,000 9L cases |
| Farming (Sustainable, organic, biodynamic) | Farmed using organic principles, DEMETER certified biodynamic since 2007. In France, certified organic by EcoCert France. |