Jean-Baptiste Adam
Riesling Kaefferkopf Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru – 2019
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
Estate vineyards in A.O.C. Alsace Grand Cru, the Kaefferkopf was 1st to be recognized by legal delimitation in 1932, and awarded Grand Cru status in 2007. Beautifully sunny plots stretched over several sub-Vogosian hillsides.
- Altitude: 790 – 1,050 feet/240-320 meters
- Soil: Granite and silica with clay and limestone subsoil
- Vines Planted: Before 1965
Harvest Notes
- Jean Baptiste Adam’s philosophy and practice in making wine encompasses respect for the environment, the number of buds per vine stock, plantation density, date of harvest, manual harvest, yield, grape maturity and cellar hygiene.
- Hand harvested
- Pneumatic whole cluster pressed
- Cold settling at 50ºF overnight
- Fermented using only indigenous yeasts at 68ºF in century old wooden casks, fitted with temperature controls
Winemaker's Notes
This wine represents the signature of the house, a dry and complex Riesling, tailor-made for gastronomy and for lovers of wine that becomes more beautiful with aging. On the nose notes of candied lemon, peach vines, minerality, and a very fine aniseed essence. Good concentration on the palate with ripe acidity. This Grand Cru Riesling is wonderfully balanced, perfectly reflective of Grand Cru Kaefferkopf the terroir. Powerful, structured and very salty on the finish. Exceptional aging potential with this 2019 vintage.
Wine Summary
100% Riesling; alcohol: 13.4%; Grand Cru Kaefferkopf vineyard across several sub-Vogosian hillsides; silica and granite with clay-limestone subsoil; vines 53 – 68 years old; hand harvested; cold settling at 50ºF overnight; gentle whole cluster pressed; vinified and aged in stainless steel tanks at 68ºF; certified Organic and Biodyamic by EcoCert and DEMETER.
Technical Information
- 100% Riesling
- Alcohol: 13.5%
- Total Acidity: 4.17 g/l
- Residual Sugar: 4 g/l
- Certified Organic by EcoCert
- Certified Biodynamic by DEMETER
Reviews
93 Points
The 2020 Riesling Vieilles Vignes Kaefferkopf Grand Cru is from two parcels, one 60 years old on granite, the other almost 70 on limestone. The nose is lifted with a touch of kerosene, followed by Miabelle and hayflowers. Smoothness defines the palate. The flow and freshness have granite directness, stony and straight with slight limestone buffering. Together, they have much concentration and direction, always with that ethereal hayflower lift and lasting acidity that lends a cooling finish. (Bone-Dry). 2024 – 2040
Vinous, April, 2024
90 Points
This is zesty with a pleasant bittersweet profile, showing pink grapefruit peel together with lychee and cardamom notes, underscored by wet stone. Racy acidity keeps it all fresh and focused for a lingering finish.
Wine Enthusiast, November, 2023
90 Points
Builds in mineral intensity, with tart apple and white grapefruit highlighted by warm notes of ginger and spices. The finish is dominated by flint and smoke, with a quinine bitterness and wooly texture. A straight, savory white. Drink now through 2030. 300 cases made, 30 cases imported.
Wine Spectator, November, 2023
94 Points
Jean-Baptiste Adam farms 3.4 acres in the granite and limestone soils of Kaefferkopf. His vines, planted in the mid-1950s, provided a powerful riesling in 2019, benefiting from a day or two to mellow, as it will from cellar time. It opens past scents of white tea and roses, spring apple blossoms and an herbal scent of the earth. With air, it layers puff pastry over those spring blossom scents, the wine fresh and refreshing, dynamic and long.
Wine and Spirits, April, 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. |