Kuentz-Bas - Alsace

When we visited Ammerschwihr during our 2024 Alsace scouting tour we were excited to meet with Laure Adam, the 15th generation of the Adam family to manage the family domain Jean-Baptiste Adam. Laure has a quiet and friendly confidence in everything she does - almost like those generations before her have imprinted a knowledge of the family terroir in her DNA. After a tour of the 400 year old winery and tasting from the extensive range of wines they create, Laure asked if we would be interested in tasting the smaller (only in a relative sense) range from Kuentz-Bas, a domaine with its own 200 year history, which the Adam family had purchased 10 years earlier in 2004 and now also has Laure as head-winemaker, operating from the J-B Adam winery.  

We are so glad we said yes.

The terroir driven whites of Kuentz-Bas are thrilling. Exactly what we wanted to find and bring back to Australia. The full range includes 37 wines (this is Alsace, where every combination of allowed grape and plot of dirt must have it's moment in a bottle!), we tasted 18 of them, and selected 5 standouts across a range of prices and grape varieties including some very special Grand Cru wines. 4 of the 5 are produced organically and 3 of the 5 are produced biodynamically, which is perhaps more common in Alsace than any other wine region in the world.

We have predominantly focussed on dry wines from the Kuentz-Bas range, but the Grand Cru Gewurztraminer is a medium-sweet style, making it a great pairing for spicy food, and of course the Vendange Tardive, meaning late harvest, is a classic dessert wine.