Aged in bottle “sur latte” for 24 months in the cellar. After the aging process, each bottle is disgorged, and no dosage is added.

The grapes for the Crémant come predominately from 2 terroirs. The alluvial gravel and light clay soils of the plains surrounding the village of Scherwiller, and the decomposed granite soils from the northern hillsides of the Frankstein Grand Cru in the village of Dambach-la-Ville.

Direct pressing of the whole bunches is followed by one-night of lees settling before the start of fermentation in stainless steel tanks. Alcoholic fermentation begins naturally using only indigenous yeasts and takes up to 1 month to complete. The still wine, or Vin Clair, is aged for 9 months on the fermentation lees in stainless steel tanks. The Vin Clair does not go through malolactic fermentation. At 9 months a solution of sugar and yeast, known as Liqueur de Tirage, is added to the Vin Clair to kick-start the secondary fermentation. The wine is bottled under a crown cap and a second fermentation occurs in the bottle.

Achillée

Approximately 28 km north of Colmar and 50 km southwest of Strasbourg lies the village of Scherwiller. Here at the confluence of the Haut-Rhin and the Bas-Rhin the Dietrich family have been farming the land since 1600. While vines were always cultivated, it was just one of the many crops produced by the family over the generations.

It was not until Yves Dietrich, father of the current generation, that the focus became grape growing. A farmer at heart and preferring to be in the vines, he sold the Domaine’s yearly grape production to the local cooperative cellar. Yves was not content focusing solely on quantity, and, in 1999, the Domaine was converted to organic viticulture. Pleased with the results, Yves began the conversion to Biodynamics just 4 years later. Today the entire 18.5-hectare grape production of the Domaine, and the 6 hectares of cherry and plum trees, is certified biodynamic (Demeter).

In 2016 Yves handed over the reins of the Domaine to his more than capable sons Jean and Pierre, who decided it was time for the Domaine to bottle its own production. Thus, Achillée (French for yarrow) was born. Jean, a trained enologist with experience working with the likes of Ostertag and Deiss, makes the wines, while Pierre, who has a background in finance, handles the business side of the Domaine. The vineyard work is a family affair as Yves continues to oversee the viticultural aspects of Achillée, and it is in the vines where the Dietrich family are doing their finest work. The attention to detail and dedication to biodynamic farming is matched by very few vignerons. This dedication to producing the finest raw materials can also be seen in the cellar, which happens to be made entirely of straw. This bioclimatic cellar maintains a year-round temperature of 55.4°F (13°C) and is the largest straw building in Europe.

So why the name Achillée? Achillée, comes from the plant name Achillea Millefolium, or common Yarrow. The plant is a popular choice for those practicing biodynamic farming. While it grows naturally among the vines, Achillea Millefolium is often planted intentionally by vignerons for its antifungal properties, which reduces the necessity for using sulphur in vineyards. It was noted by Yves that after the conversion to biodynamic farming, Achillea Millefolium sprung up naturally in all their vineyards, even though the Domaine’s vineyards are in several different micro-climates and on five different soil types. Pierre compares the bloom of the Achillea Millefolium to the relationship between the estate and the world around it- “the many tiny flowers are in a cluster, equidistant from each other and from the center of the flower, each sharing the sun in equal doses, as a visual symbol of the relationship between the vigneron, the wine distributors and the clients.”

With just a handful of vintages under their belts, it is exciting to think about the trajectory of Achillée. Already farming at a high level and with Jean coming into his own as a winemaker, the wines continue to become more precise and terroir expressive. There is a magnetism about the brothers, and a level of enthusiasm that we look for in all the vignerons we work with. We do not think it is a stretch to say that in 10-years Achillée will be mentioned among the top Domaines in Alsace.