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About This Wine:

This premier cru vineyard produces wines of rich and viscous gold. Complex and lush, the mouthfeel yields to deep tropical flavours with undertones of stone mineral and spice. Cleanly layered with natural acidity this is an elegant and polished wine.

Vintage “Clos des Chartreux” was originally produced by the Carthusian monks who founded the Molsheim Monastery in 1520 and lived there until the Revolution in 1789. 4 generations of our family patiently rebuild the monks’ vineyards.

This name pays homage to the CHARTERS who lived in Molsheim from 1551 to 1790 and give to the Molsheim wines their letters patent of nobility. This property lying on the Finkenberg (finch hill) slope was acquired since 1591. This predilection soil provides remarkable wines with great finesse like Muscat, Riesling, Pinot Gris or Gewurztraminer

The soil gives the wines the suppleness typical of the great Alsace wines as well as gaiety like the finch’s song.

About The Winery:

Robert Klingenfus wines are made with respect for nature. The Klingefus family-run vineyard in Molsheim exports 50% of its wines; the rest are sold within France. The estate’s core values are the respect for nature and a healthy and sustainable form of agriculture. Robert Klingenfus follows strict production standards, with balanced soil amendment, control of vine nutrients and yields, hand harvest of sensitive vines, maturing in wood casks and delayed bottling – all of which is done in order to ensure the consistent quality of the wines.

History:

KLINGENFUS is a Swiss name referring to the people living at the foot of a mountain called Klingenberg in Switzerland. As early as the 14th Century, the Klingenfus have been active in cooperage and vine.

Our ancestor Guillaume KLINGENFUS settled in Molsheim (in the Region of Alsace, Eastern France) in 1884. He was a professional cooper and through hard work and skills in the trade, he was able to buy a few acres of vines from the nearby Chartreuse (Carthusion monastery) of Molsheim.

My ancestor Charles KLINGENFUS was born in 1886. He was also a skilful cooper who was able to make casks of 3000 to 6000 litres. Charles was a hardworking man, who was used to grow vineyard or orchard on its “free time” after long hours spent in its workshop. He was already producing at the time wines and Brandies of high quality and received several awards in Molsheim, Strasbourg and Paris. Wines were sold then in barrels of 50 to 250 litres. We started to sell our wines in bottles only in 1946, under the management of Antoine KLINGENFUS.

Antoine KLINGENFUS was born in 1927 and with him the Vineyards developed. He was also trained as his ancestors as a cooper, and he was one of the pioneers in the profession to start making oval casks of 3000 litres. He extended our vineyard and started developing the concept of wines of the local land (in French “vins du terroir”). The Bugatti Vintage was then created in 1971. Like his father, he received several awards for his high quality wines.

My name is Robert KLINGENFUS, son of Antoine. I was born in 1959 and I consider as my mission to maintain our heritage and implement new ideas. Several projects have been conducted to improve our knowledge of vine growing and of its biotope in order to perpetuate the quality of our wines. We have invested also in customer communication and service as satisfying customers’ needs and requirements is essential to our business.

Organtic Stewardship:

Consumers request healthy wines produced on healthy land using environmentally friendly agriculture. I wish to preserve such a healthy and productive land for my own children Elodie and Guillaume who will later take over from me. Thus, my commitment to organic viticultural practices.

Our Vineyards cover 20 hectares of organically farmed land located in Molsheim between Strasbourg and Obernai. Since 2000, we have implemented environmentally friendly and conservationist agricultural methods. This same approach applies as well to our wine making in cellar and bottling / packaging techniques.

We are certified by the TYFLO association. This is a gathering of Alsace winemakers who follow reasoned methods of production according to the IOBC guidelines (International Organisation for Biological and Integrated Control) which defines drastic specifications since January 1st, 2000 and which requires every operation carried out on every piece of land to be recorded and archived.

Wine quality is the most important purpose the KLINGENFUS DOMAIN has choosen thanks to an efficacious and rational production management.

1. Choice of land (slope, exposure, kind of soil);
2. Regional grape-variety (depends of the soil, exposure and so on …);
3. Soil analysis every 5 years to control nutrients and looking after the vines with meticulous care;
4. Yield monitoring thanks to a good vine training:

• Short guyot pruning
• Less fertilizer supplying
• Grass sowing / simultaneous ploughing
• Thining out in July if necessary to ensure top quality;

5. Hand-made picking for sensitive grape-varieties;
6. Pressing out of non-destemed grapes;
7. Traditionnal wine-making with strict fermentation temperature control;
8. Maturation in wooden tun where applicable;
9. Bottling process as late as possible.

Ours south south-east soils are marly and calcareous. They are very permeable. Therefore wine aromas thrive quickly. However, vines and grapes grow slowly because of the clayey soil (up to 30 %). Light calcareous gravels reflect the sun’s heat and also drain rain-water. In that way roots can easily find all the nutriments (minerals and water) required to the vinegrowth.

The wine-grower motivation increased with grapes ripening and wine maturation. He is wholly satisfied when his wine lover consumers shared the same feelings after tasting the final product. Living in the spirit, choosing the quality enables Robert KLINGENFUS to surmount difficulties and especially to forge ahead.

Technical Analysis:

Planting year: 1985/1986 4500 vine-plants /ha

Vines: A vine training with low treatments

Aspect: A south south-east exposure to sun slope 35%

Alcohol: 12 % vol

Soil: A marly calcareous ground with a dolomite underground

Sugar: > 6 g /litre

Fermentation: All indigenous yeast from our vineyards