A balanced dry wine with a smoky and spicy nose which shows itself deep in mouth, ample with a spicy nose.

The name of HENGST means stallion. The soil of the 360 meter high slope which dominates this vineyard is essentially a mixture of limestone from the Vosges, chalky marl (14% active) and layers of red, brown, green and beige sediment hundreds of meters thick. The mother rock is of an orange - yellow hue. Dating as far back as the Jurassic period the elements vary in density from very fine to very course. The Ph factor is within 7.8 to 8.3. This Grand Cru is 130.95 acres (53,02 Ha) of vines. The combined calcareous and marl soils tend to produce rich full bodied wines. In their youth they have an untamed character, reminiscent of the vineyard's name - "stallion". They slowly mature to astonishing aromatics and fabulous richness.

Wine maker notes

Winter is really starting around the 15th of December with snow. The winter is present until early March with cold temperature ( -17°C early March ) and snow (mid of February). Spring starts on March 14th with temperatures which are going to 25°C but a humid weather follows immediately a too warm week. The flowering of the vine starts around the 6th of June and is finishing 2 weeks later under very hot weather conditions. After it, we forecast a smaller harvest in quantity; may be 15% less than in 2004. Even if the weather conditions are not exceptional the vines are suffering by water stress : the year 2005 was the hottest year after 2003. We begin harvest the 19th of September under a beautiful weather and finish the 25th of October. Wines from 2005 vintage are firm, elegant, very well balanced with a good body and structure and a ripe and fine acidity.

Technical notes

The grapes were hand picked and whole-bunch pressed very slowly and gently in pneumatic presses over 5-8 hours to give a clean must and a beneficial amount of skin contact. Transferred to thermo-regulated stainless steel tanks the juice then began a natural fermentation using only its own natural yeast which lasted for one month. The fermentation was initially temperature controlled but was eventually allowed to proceed at its own pace to allow the wine to develop its own character and complexity. The wine stabilized in stainless steel tanks naturally during the winter season and, following a very gentle filtering, was bottled in March 2007 before the heat of summer to preserve the natural carbonic gas (a natural anti-oxidant). Malolactic fermentation is always avoided at Josmeyer and no chaptalization takes place.

Food pairing

Foie gras in brioche – Thaï, Indian and Creole cooking – Gorgonzola – Munster – Roquefort...