Dossier · Auxerrois
Domaine Schram - And some Auxerrois!
Domaine Schram, a family business based in Bech-Kleinmacher, offers a wide range of traditional grape varieties. Their speciality: sylvaner. But the two cousins also have some good auxerrois!
The wine estate is now managed by the fourth generation. The first stone of this cellar was laid in 1951 by Matthieu Schram, the great-grandfather of the current directors. It was located in the basement of the family home. Years later, when the second generation joined in, they moved to the present cellar on the Route du Vin.
"In my opinion, auxerrois is a very good wine that needs to be better promoted. It is one of the oldest grape varieties in the country and is very well suited to our climate".
Their 14 hectares of vines include elbling, rivaner, riesling, pinot and sylvaner - their speciality! - and, of course, auxerrois. "We offer three types of crémant and wines from elbling, rivaner, sylvaner, riesling, pinot gris, chardonnay and auxerrois, sold by the litre or as Grand Premier Cru," explains the manager, adding: "We sell about 60% of our wines to private customers, 30% to restaurants and the rest to supermarkets. We emphasise direct sales, maintaining contact with our customers and encouraging a regular relationship". To protect the environment and ensure the quality of its wines, Domaine Schram has also opted for integrated viticulture, favouring mechanical weeding and limiting the use of pesticides wherever possible.
In their wide range of wines, the auxerrois stands out... and rightly so: "In my opinion, auxerrois is a very good wine that needs to be better promoted. It is one of the oldest grape varieties in the country and is very well suited to our climate".
At Domaine Schram, auxerrois is sold in three different forms: crémant, grand premier cru and in larger containers for the restaurant trade. "For the crémant, we use half pinot blanc and half auxerrois, the latter adding fruity notes to the bubbles".
It's the fruity side of the wine which is particularly appealing on the palate, where you'll find flavours of melon, yellow plums and apricots. The grapes themselves are golden yellow in colour with red spots when fully ripe, giving them the appearance of mirabelle plums.
White wines tend to mature very quickly and lose some of their qualities after a few years. This is not the case with Auxerrois. "It acquires all its flavours more slowly and retains them for longer. I once opened a bottle of Auxerrois that was 10 years old and it was still really good!" Ben Scham continues: "Most people like pairing auxerrois to aspargus but I personally prefer Sylvaner with them. Auxerrois is wonderful with smoked food. Its roundness goes very well with smoked meats!"
Auxerrois still has a lot of convincing to do, especially with people who have preconceived notions about it, but the cousins are positive: "When we have tastings and I give people the chance to taste an auxerrois, I get nothing but positive feedback, even from the most reticent".
This goes to show that the future of auxerrois looks very bright.
