Domaines Schlumberger 2020 Gewurztraminer "Les Princes Abbés" Alsace 750ml

"Les Princes Abbés" — the Prince Abbots — is a direct tribute to the monks who once ruled this exact stretch of vineyard land. Domaines Schlumberger's holdings were first planted by the Romans, then controlled for centuries by the Prince Abbots of Murbach, a monastic order that established its seat at Guebwiller in southern Alsace. When the Abbey's estates were sold off following the French Revolution, a local mill owner named Nicolas Schlumberger purchased 20 hectares — the seed of what has grown, across more than two centuries and six generations of his heirs, into the single largest contiguous vineyard holding in Alsace, spanning 135 hectares over four miles on the steep flanks of the Vosges Mountains. Schlumberger also owns the largest acreage of Grand Cru vineyard in the entire appellation, including the celebrated blocks of Kessler, Kitterlé, and Saering, with vine references tracing back to ancient Roman times.

The estate's aridity and steepness naturally suppress yields to roughly half the Alsace average, and even though Schlumberger is legally entitled to produce as much as 160,000 cases annually, the family deliberately limits production to 80,000 — a self-imposed restraint that concentrates flavor considerably. Every Schlumberger wine, this Gewurztraminer included, ferments and ages in large oak tuns that have served the estate's cellars for decades, the genuine heart of the operation. This specific cuvée draws mainly from the named localities of Bollenberg and Bux, supplemented by young vines from the domaine's own Grand Cru sites, following slow pneumatic pressing, static racking, one-to-four months of fermentation in thermo-regulated tuns, and six to eight months of maturation on the lees.

The estate's own tasting notes for 2020 describe a nose that's "frank, pleasant and intense," dominated by exotic scents — citrus fruits, candied orange, grapefruit, pear, peach, mango, and passion fruit — with airing revealing floral rose alongside spices, ginger, and curry, "remarkable for its freshness and exoticism." The palate is described as "dazzling and racy," a dense, soft attack over a full-bodied alcoholic base, evolving in a "sinewy environment marked by pearl," carrying the same citrus, exotic fruit, rose, and spice character through to a finish of good length with "frank liveliness and lingering bitterness," which the estate calls, in total, "powerful, exuberant, intensely aromatic." Wine Enthusiast's independent tasting offered a notably different, more atypical read: "grassy and petrol fragrances all but bury hints of lychee and forest floor aromas," with "sweet lychee and lemony acidity" coming forward on the palate, "balanced by green bell pepper and a tenacious back note of petrol," closing "clean and bright" — the reviewer specifically noting "the pyrazines are unexpected," a genuinely candid observation about the wine showing an atypical vegetal character alongside its more classic Gewurztraminer profile. This is a serious, historically significant Alsace white from the appellation's largest and most storied estate.

Origins & Craftsmanship

Domaines Schlumberger's vineyards were originally planted by the Romans in what is now southern Alsace, and were later controlled for centuries by the Prince Abbots of Murbach, a monastic order that established its seat at the town of Guebwiller. Following the French Revolution, when the Abbey's estates were sold off, a local mill owner named Nicolas Schlumberger purchased 20 hectares — a holding his heirs have expanded, over more than two centuries and six successive generations, into 135 hectares spread across four miles on the steep flanks of the Vosges Mountains, making Schlumberger the largest single contiguous vineyard holding in Alsace and the appellation's largest Grand Cru producer, with references to its famous Kessler, Kitterlé, and Saering blocks dating to Roman times.

Due to the aridity and steepness of the property, yields run roughly 50% below the Alsace average; although permitted by law to produce as much as 160,000 cases annually, the domaine deliberately limits production to 80,000 cases per year to preserve concentration and quality. All Schlumberger wines are estate-grown and fermented and aged in large oak tuns that have served the cellars for decades. This Gewurztraminer, part of the domaine's "Les Princes Abbés" range — named in tribute to the Prince Abbots who once controlled this land — draws primarily from the named localities of Bollenberg and Bux, along with young vines from the estate's Grand Cru vineyards. Production follows slow pneumatic pressing and static racking, with fermentation in thermo-regulated tuns lasting one to four months, followed by six to eight months of maturation on the lees.

Critics Reviews

Wine Enthusiast 90 Points:
"Grassy and petrol fragrances all but bury hints of lychee and forest floor aromas. Sweet lychee and lemony acidity come to the forefront on the palate, balanced by green bell pepper and a tenacious back note of petrol. The finish is clean and bright. The pyrazines are unexpected."

Domaines Schlumberger (official tasting notes, 2020 vintage):
"The nose is frank, pleasant and intense. We can smell a dominant of exotic scents, citrus fruits, candied orange, grapefruit, pear, peach, mango, passion fruit. Airing amplifies these smells and reveals a floral note, rose and spices, ginger, curry. The nose is remarkable for its freshness and exoticism. The palate presents a dazzling and racy complexity. The attack on the palate is dense, soft, the alcoholic base is full-bodied. We evolve in a sinewy environment, marked by pearl. We find the range of aromas of the nose, always dominated by citrus fruits, grapefruit, candied orange, exotic fruits, peach, pear, passion fruit, mango, rose, spices, curry and ginger. There is a hint of firm bitterness. The finish has good length, 8-9 caudalies, as well as frank liveliness and lingering bitterness. As usual, the balance impresses me with its tasty and structured appearance. Powerful, exuberant, intensely aromatic wine."

Wine Advocate: “From the single-vineyard sites Bollenberg and Bux, the 2020 Gewurztraminer Les Princes Abbés offers clear, pure and very aromatic fruit on the nose with rose petal aromas, lychees and citrus fruits such as candied oranges and grapefruit but also notes of crushed stones and saline. Fermented in casks to 14% stated alcohol with 25.37 grams per liter of remaining fruit sugar, this is a rich and full-bodied, very intense and moderately sweet Traminer with good freshness and fine tannins that intermingle with the body as well as the saline mineral acidity. The finish is dense and intense, quite powerful but also balanced despite its sweetness that underlines the ripe and fruity character of this baroque Gewurztraminer. There are ginger notes and lychee as well as passion fruit and mango on the aftertaste.” 

Tasting Profile

Nose
Frank, pleasant, and intense, dominated by exotic scents of citrus fruits, candied orange, grapefruit, pear, peach, mango, and passion fruit. Airing reveals a floral rose note alongside spices, ginger, and curry. Some independent tasting finds a more atypical, grassy, and petrol-driven character with lychee and forest floor notes underneath.

Palate
Dazzling and racy in complexity, with a dense, soft attack over a full-bodied alcoholic base. Citrus, grapefruit, candied orange, exotic fruit, rose, spices, curry, and ginger continue from the nose, with a hint of firm bitterness and a slight prickle ("pearl") of natural texture. Sweet lychee and lemony acidity, balanced by green bell pepper, appear in independent tasting.

Finish
Good length — 8 to 9 caudalies — with frank liveliness and lingering bitterness, tasty and well-structured throughout. Independently, some tasting finds the finish clean and bright, closing with a distinct petrol note.

Quick Overview

Food Pairings

• A wok of spicy vegetables and soy sauce
• Chinese noodles with shrimp
• Fish curry risotto
• Soft, washed-rind cheeses like Géromé