Mount Sigolsheim, northwest of Colmar, was the high ground fought for in the battle of the “Colmar Pocket,” January 20 to February 9, 1945. On the summit is the French military necropolis commemorating this historic battle for one of the last regions occupied by German infantry. It took American and French forces three weeks in frigid temperatures to dislodge the German bridgehead. On the south-facing slope of this hill is the celebrated Grand Cru Mambourg. Records show that as early as the year 783, elegant wines of the present-day Mambourg were famous. Monasteries and the nobility owned vineyards on this 61.85-hectare (152.84-acre) foothill of the Vosges range. The vineyard enjoys optimum sunshine and scant rainfall. Alsace — in the rain shadow on the lee side of the Vosges Mountains — is one of the driest regions of France. The soil here is lime-magnesium over calcareous and marl conglomerates that formed during the Tertiary period, 65 million to 1.6 million years ago.

Dates for the beginning of harvest for each AOC are set by decree, generally 100 days after the median date of flowering, at the time when the grapes display the best sugar-to-acid ratio. The 2011 harvest took place under the best possible conditions.

Gleaming golden yellow, with aromas of butter, dried apricots, wood smoke and almonds, as well as lemon peel and spicy juniper, which increase with aeration and are joined by fine notes of mineral and flint. On the palate, a strong, dynamic body dances with the fine fruit acid; a delicate sweetness — Alsace Grand Cru wines have a higher minimum sugar content than basic Alsace wines — balances the acidity on the spicy, long finish.