A winery with serious history, François Schmitt comes from a long line of wine producers. At the start of the 1970s he took over the family farm in the heart of the village, which consisted of three hectares of vines.To grow operations François acquired several plots of land notably on the Bollenberg and Grand Cru Pfingstberg slopes, terroirs which today make up close to 80% of the Domaine’s hectarage.
His son joined the operation in 1998 and today their domaine is comprised of 13 hectares which is mainly planted to Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, Gewurtztraminer, Riesling and Pinot Gris. I loved the new wines by them particularly the value driven NV Francois Schmitt ‘Blanc de Noirs’ Cremant D’ Alsace (OB, 90) which is fresh and polished with lovely ginger notes. The best wine I tasted was the rich and bone-dry 2017 Francois Schmitt ‘Grand Cru Pfingstberg Paradis’ Riesling (OB, 93) which comes from this Grand Cru site and shows incredible texture and gobs of tension. Learn more about this historic winery at https://francoisschmitt.fr/en/ and here are my reviews of the new Francois Schmitt wines.
NV Francois Schmitt ‘Blanc de Noirs’ Cremant D’ Alsace- The excellent Blanc de Noirs by Francois Schmitt offers baking spice dusted sourdough bread, marzipan and ginger notes alongside green apple tones. Enjoy now. Drink 2022-2026- 90
2021 Francois Schmitt ‘Linn des Sept’ Pinot Blanc- The 2021 Francois Schmitt ‘Linn des Sept’ Pinot Blanc delivers kiwi, sweetened gooseberry and cantaloupe tones on the palate with great underlying finesse. Enjoy now and over the next five plus years. Drink 2022-2027- 90
2020 Francois Schmitt ‘La Colline Aux Cailloux’ White Wine- A blend of seven varietals, the 2020 Francois Schmitt ‘La Colline Aux Cailloux’ White Wine shows lychee notes alongside green papaya, gardenia water, mango and ripe pineapple notes. Stony and showing a light salinity, this is beautifully textured wine that is drinking beautifully now. Drink 2022-2028- 91
2017 Francois Schmitt ‘Grand Cru Pfingstberg Paradis’ Riesling- Rich and concentrated, the 2017 Francois Schmitt ‘Grand Cru Pfingstberg Paradis’ Riesling is bone dry with serious weight and structure. Layers of freshly cut lime, blue slate and nectarine combine with copious minerals on the palate. Generous and showing brilliant underlying finesse, this Grand Cru Riesling will cellar well over the next ten years. Drink 2022-2032- 93